Now What? AKA series 4 episode 1
by Rodea McWin
Summary: Set directly after series 3/episode 10. Now What? They are stuck in the past, will they make it home. This is just my take on what might have happened next. Just one of many alternate views already posted on this site.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: takes place directly after series (season) 3, episode 10

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Conner shifted his leg while he slept causing a sudden jolt of pain to run up his leg; thus waking him up. "Owwww" was all he got out before he remembered where he was. He muffled the rest of his agony so he wouldn't wake up Abby.

As the pain eased up a little he looked over to make sure he had not woken her. He could tell she was still asleep. While he stared at her he couldn't help but think how beautiful she looked as the rising sun reflected off her face. He thought he could just sit and watch her forever, but he knew their situation made that impossible. They needed to find Danny and somehow get back to their own time.

Now that Connor was more awake, he moved his leg again to see if he could work out some of the kinks that had settled over night. He had to bite his bottom lip a few times as the pain flared up, but the more he moved his leg the better it was feeling. This gave him a little hope that he would be able to climb back down this tree and help Abby find Danny.

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At some point Abby had opened her eyes but she didn't feel like moving. She wanted to just lay there for awhile and let the sun warm her body. While she laid there she saw that Connor was awake, but appreciated the solitude he was obviously allowing her.

After she had warmed up she sat up and looked at Connor "Good morning, how long have you been awake?"

"Not too long. Did you sleep well?"

Abby cautiously stretched her arms before responding "I guess I slept as well as anyone could in a tree. How did you sleep, is your ankle still hurting you?"

"It stings a little bit, but luckily it didn't keep me up all night". It actually hurt worse that he was letting on, but he didn't want her to worry about him.

Abby grabbed her backpack that she had been using as a pillow and starting looking inside. After a few moments she pulled out a bottle of water and what appeared to be sunflower seeds. "Well there is one thing I am sure of, if we don't get out of here soon we are going to starve to death. All I have are some seeds and a few bottles of water on me. What do you have in your pack?" She was really hoping he had brought more food that she had. They hadn't expected to be out here long so they had packed light; allowing room for more weapons.

Connor had already looked in his bag and was happy to report that he did indeed have a few more items. "Well I can offer you some beef jerky, fruit leather and crisps topped off with a few bars of chocolate". He had laid out each of the items on his lap as he said them and he was now covered in food. "So, what do you fancy for breakfast then?"

Abby looked at the food for a second before deciding "I'll take some jerky for now, do you want some water?"

"Sounds wonderful, don't mind if I do". He took one of the bottles and in return handed Abby some jerky.

Connor put the rest of his food away before opening the water. Truthfully he really wasn't all that hungry, but he was thirsty. He took a few large sips and then thought he better not drink too much, it was better to conserve what little they had; besides he didn't relish the thought of having to quickly climb down the tree to relieve himself.

Abby finished off the last of her jerky and looked at Connor for a moment. She knew they had to find a way out of here, but thought if there was anyone she would rather be stuck here with it would be Connor. He could be very annoying at times and usually made a mess of things, but there was one thing she knew for certain, she could always count on him to be there for her. If they never found their way home she could see herself making the best of this place alongside him. She just hoped it didn't come to that.

"So what's our plan then?" Connor waited for a response. When he didn't get one he tried again "Earth to Abby, what's our plan?"

Abby's thoughts were broken as she heard Connor, "What was that Connor?"

Connor tilted his head and gave her a goofy look; eyes wide open "what's the plan for getting out of here?"

"Oh, I'm sorry Connor, I was just thinking". Abby paused before continuing "yes we need a plan don't we. Well I thought the first thing we should do was eat something. We've already done that so I think the next thing would be to get out of this tree and find out where Danny went. Since he didn't come back he must still be chasing Helen; the only question is, did he have to go through another anomaly to get to her".

Connor could sense that she was distracted by something and had to wonder what she had been thinking about earlier "Do you really think he could have gone through another anomaly already? If he did we could be as good as stuck here. Our devise for opening anomalies is out of juice, remember?"

"I know Connor; you don't have to remind me. We don't really know what's happened to him, but if we don't get out of this tree and look we'll never know". She was trying to stay calm, but she never did like Connor's pessimistic thoughts in times of despair.

"All right Abby, you don't have to get snippy with me. So we need to climb out of this tree and find out which direction Danny went".

"I'm sorry Connor; I'm just worried is all". Abby wanted to change the subject "so, do you think you'll be able to climb down the tree by yourself".

"I think I can manage, but I'm not sure how useful I'll be once were down on the ground. I want you to promise me that if we get attacked during our search, that you will run and save yourself and not wait for me. You have to promise me that, OK Abby?"

Abby would be lying if she said this thought had not crossed her mind. She really didn't know how she was going to manage with Connor's disability in this hostile world "I promise Connor, but I'm sure it will not come to this". She didn't tell him the truth however. She had already made her mind up that if they were attacked she would stay with him to the end.

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Connor and Abby slung the packs over their backs before making the slow decent down the tree. Luckily the predators in the area were not aware of their presence in the tree, or it may have a little difficult once they reached the ground. As it stood, there was not a creature in site.

It had been a long and difficult decent for Connor, but he was finally at the bottom with both feet on the ground. "I know we have to keep moving Abby, but I need to rest a minute. My leg is really throbbing from the work out we just did".

Abby thought this was a good idea. She had been so worried that Connor would lose his footing while moving down the tree that a little rest would be a blessing. "Yeah, I think we can rest a minute, but then we need to pick up Danny and Helen's tracks and find out where they went. If we do find where the anomaly was, we may just have to wait until Danny comes through from the other side before making our way home".

While Connor continued to rest Abby was able to find Danny's trail "Connor I've found it".

"What have you found Abby?"

Abby ran back to where Connor was sitting. "I know which way Danny went, I found his foot trail. We better get going; a fresh trail is so much easier to track than an old one".

Connor was hoping to rest a bit longer, but thought his leg would stiffen up if he didn't start moving, "Hey Abby, do you think you can help me up again, the ankle is still a little sore". As Abby came over he put his arm around her shoulders and allowed her to help him up.

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Following the trail was quite an effort for Connor, but he did his best to keep up to Abby. They had been walking for about 30 minutes when Abby stopped. "Why've you stopped Abby, did you find something?"

"This is where the trail seems to end". She was disappointed when they didn't see any anomalies in sight. She didn't really think they would find one, but she had hoped.

"Are you sure Abby?" Connor thought she looked so defeated.

Abby looked up at Connor "I'm sure Connor. Maybe you should rest your leg while I think of our next move".

As Connor used his walking stick to make his way over to a fallen tree stump, he suddenly felt the stick slip under his grasp causing him to go tumbling to the ground. Abby looked up at the sound and saw Connor fall on his back. She immediately rushed over to his side "Are you alright Connor? What happened?"

Connor was trying to sit up but allowed Abby to help him "I don't know, my walking stick hit something and slipped out of my hand. I guess I lost my balance". Connor started looking around to see what he might have slipped on. As he moved his body he saw what it had been "Abby, you're not going to believe this, but I slipped on an anomaly detector. Do you suppose it belonged to Helen? But why would she have left it here". Connor was unaware of his rambling but stopped as he looked around the area. Something bad must have happened if Helen had left it behind.

Abby reached out and grabbed the detector from Connor "It must be the one Helen used, but your right, why would she leave it behind unless something awful happened?" Her thoughts immediately went to Danny "Oh my god, I hope Danny is alright, we've got to find him. He could be stuck in another world with Helen and no way to get back".

Connor reached his arm out to Abby in order to get the devise back "Here Abby, let's have a look at it. I wonder if it is still working. This may be our ticket home if it still works".

Abby handed it back to Connor and waited while he looked it over. It was only a few minutes but it felt like a lifetime "Well, does it work Connor?"

"Um, what was the Abby", Connor was only half listening but Abby's words finally dawned on him, "Yes, the detector, it seems like my stick smashed the view screen, but it still has power. Unfortunately we won't be able to use the anomaly map, but I think it will open up anomalies".

Abby didn't know how to interpret Connors response "Well is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Actually it's both. We can open up anomalies, but we will be doing it blindly. The map would really have been nice to have because we may have been able to confirm Danny's location". Connor continued his work on the detector.

"How long do you think it will take you to look at it? I hope you can make repairs". Abby knew that it was these kinds of situations where Connor really shined; she just hoped he wouldn't prove her wrong.

"I'll do my best Abbs, but we're not back at the ARC so this could take some time".

Abby silently chuckled at the irony of his remark, "Well time is what we have in abundance right now, but this won't help get us home". Abby sunk to the ground where only seconds ago she was standing.

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For the next hour Connor kept working on the detector, but each time he thought he had fixed it, he found something else that was wrong. Connor looked over at Abby and saw that she was staring at him. He wasn't quite sure how to read the expression on her face so he took a stab at it, "I'm sorry if this is taking too long. This stuff from the future is a little out of my league, but I am sure I can figure it out. Do you know where the other detector is, I think I may have an idea on how to make one of them work".

Abby pulled it out of her pack and gave it to Connor. She had found it before they left the area where the raptors were and was now grateful that she brought it along.

"Thanks Abby, I think I may be able to route the power from Helen's detector to the one we brought. Keep your fingers crossed that it works".

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	2. Chapter 2

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It had been a little over an hour before Connor finished with the reconstruction of the two anomaly devices they had. "Abby, I think I fixed it". There was a sense of excitement as Connor announced this.

Abby had been sitting a few feet away thinking about the past day's events when she heard Connor. It took a few seconds for his words to sink in. She stood up and slowly walked over to Connor. She was excited at the prospect of getting out of here, but over the last hour she had convinced herself to not get excited about getting home until they had Danny with them. "You fixed it?"

"I think so. It took a little bit of trial and error, but it should be able to help us open an anomaly. I just hope it's one that leads to Danny". Connor was anxious to get moving, but when he tried to stand up he ended up falling back into the grass. His body had stiffened up over the lack of movement. He figured Abby had not noticed this because she was not at his side offering him assistance. He was glad she didn't notice. On his second attempt he was able to stand, but he had to lean on his walking stick to keep from falling again.

Abby walked to the area in front of them "Well, while you were working on the device I was studying the foot traffic and both trails seem to end in the same place", Abby pointed to the ground. "I think that if we point your device over here we might be able to get the same anomaly that Danny and Helen went through".

"That's great Abby".

Connor's excitement was a little too loud to keep them from going unnoticed. Both Abby and Connor froze as they heard the scream of something off in the distance. Abby was the first to regain her composure and went over to grab her back pack. She then went over to help Connor, "come on Connor, I think we need to get ourselves out of here before we become someone's lunch".

Connor helped Abby put the rest of his stuff away and allowed her to help him move in front of the spot she had shown him minutes earlier. Connor pointed the device into the direction "Well, wish us luck; if this works we'll have Danny back in time to go out for a bite to eat tonight". The device came to life as Connor pressed a few button. Soon they were standing in front of an active anomaly. Connor tried to jump up and down to show his excitement, but as soon as he started he soon regretted it. The pain shot up his leg causing him to yell out in pain "OOOWWW". Connor regain his stance as he clung to his stick "That was stupid; remind me not to do that again".

"Come on Connor, we are going to have an awful lot of company if we don't get out of here soon". She grabbed his arm and starting pulling him through the anomaly. She felt Connor resist a little, but she needed to get them through. Whatever was making the noise was getting closer.

As they fell through to the other side Connor lost his balance and fell face first into the dirt; the anomaly device slipping from his grasp. Abby's immediate concern was to close the anomaly, so she reached for the devise and pressed the button.

As Abby breathed a sigh of relief she realized that Connor was lying on the ground "What are you doing Connor". She helped him stand up and then led him over to the first large rock she saw "Why don't you rest here for a few minutes while a have a look around". Abby was hoping they would have found Danny waiting for them, but since he wasn't they needed to go and find him. She looked around the vast cavern of rocks they had landed in and had to wonder which way Danny had gone. She tried to look for some kind of trail but didn't see one.

Connor had also been checking out the surrounding area while he rested on the rock "I don't know if it would be such a good idea for us to separate right now. We have no way of knowing which way Danny went. We could end up getting lost".

Abby pointed to one of the rocks a little way off to their right "how about I just go over to the rock and see what I can see. That will give me an idea of which way to start going". She looked back at Connor to see what he thought.

"That sounds like a good plan Abby. I'll just sit here and wait for you to come back". Connor felt ok with this plan since he would be able to see her on the rock. He didn't want to lose anyone else, especially her. He took off his jacket and leaned back into the rock to wait.

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Abby made her way over to the rock and was surprised by how big it was. It hadn't looked that big from where she first saw it. Before she started to climb, she looked back to Connor and waved to let him know she was ok. The distance between the rock and Connor was more apparent from her new vantage point; Connor looked so small and helpless. She turned back and started her way up the side of the rock only slipping a few times. As soon as she reached the top the view took her breath away. Everything looks so pure and new, almost as if she was seeing the earth in the first year of its life. As beautiful as the site was she needed to focus on why she was there. She looked around for any signs of life. After searching every angle of land she felt like giving up. There was nothing she could see that would indicate where Danny or Helen was. She sat down on the rock feeling defeated, but something off to the right caught her attention. There was movement about 500 yards away. At first she thought it was an animal, but as she squinted to get a better look she could tell it was a person. She could only see the top of the person and could tell that they were walking away from where she was standing, but she was confident it was Danny. She started yelling at the top of her lungs "Danny, its Abby. Look back and you'll see me standing on a rock. Danny, look behind you, it's me".

All the yelling grabbed the attention of someone, but it wasn't Danny. Instead it was Connor, who stood up and started making his way over to where Abby was. The closer he got the more excited he became. He could hear her yelling Danny's name which could only mean that she saw him. Even though he didn't see Danny himself, he started yelling "Danny" over and over again.

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Danny was walking back to where Helen lay dead to see if he could find her anomaly device. He couldn't believe his luck at finding the anomaly again, but as luck would have it he had been too late to go through it. As he screamed out his frustrations, his thoughts returned to Helen. He knew she had one of those devices to open up anomalies, so all he needed to do was to find it and re-open it, allowing him to get back to where Connor and Abby were.

He was about half way to his destination when he thought he heard something. It sounded like something screaming but he couldn't figure out what it was. He assumed it was one of the local animals living in the area, but he didn't waste any time in finding out.

He decided to not stick around and quicken his pace. There was only one goal to accomplish at this point and that was getting home.

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As Abby was yelling Danny's name she became aware of Connor's presence and looked down the side of the rock to see him standing at the bottom "Connor, It's Danny, I'm sure of it, but he's too far away to hear us". Abby started to make her way off the rock, being very careful not to slip.

Connor was waiting to help her but was already thinking of what to do next "We need to go after him. Even though he didn't hear you, we at least know that he's here, which is a good start".

Abby was surprised by how level headed Connor sounded. She expected to be the one to come up with the plan, but didn't mind if Connor took the lead. They needed to work together if they were going to get out of here with Danny. "Connor, I think he used that trail over there. We need to get moving fast if we hope to catch up with him. He has quite a lead on us".

Abby was down on the ground quicker than she thought and was soon running to where they left their stuff. Out of the corner of her eye she could tell that Connor was making his way over to her. She turned her head and shouted "Connor, stay there, I'll bring our stuff over". She knew she sounded bossy, but he was just going to hold them up if he had to walk all the way back to where she just was. If he stayed there they could start making their way down the trail. She really would have liked him to stay here while she went after Danny, but the discussion and eventual argument that it would cause would take too much time. It was better to just let him come along.

Connor did as he was told and waited for Abby. He knew that he was going to slow her down, but he didn't want to separate from her. When Abby came back he saw that she had left his jacket by the rock. He wanted to say something but thought better of it and remained silent.

The both of them walked down the path as fast as Connor's ankle would allow. At times Abby tried to get Connor to move faster, but soon had to give it up and let Connor establish the pace.

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Danny was back standing over Helen's body. He didn't know what he was expecting to find, but he was glad to find her in the exact position he had left her in. He looked around to see what he could find in the immediate area; when he found nothing he relented to the fact that he was going to have to search her body. He had seen his share of dead people, but he never really liked to get up close and personal with them. He moved the raptor's body off of Helen and started to search her. He was very disappointed when he didn't find anything. Then he remembered that she was standing up on the rock face above him. Perhaps she left her stuff up there, which meant he needed to start climbing. He looked at the rock and found something that resembled a stairway. It wasn't perfect but it would do.

Once Danny had made his way up the rock he saw what he had hoped Helen had left behind. It was her backpack. He sat down next to the pack and started searching inside. After he had pulled everything out he could see his luck had not changed. He did not find the anomaly device and it made him realize that he may be stuck here forever. His only hope was to go back to where the anomaly was and wait. Perhaps Abby and Connor would somehow come and rescue him.

With all of his effort Danny got up and made his way down the same path he had climbed up. He had Helen's pack with him so at least there was some food. She didn't have much, but it was better than nothing.

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By the time Abby and Connor were in the same area Danny was first spotted , they both felt like they were getting somewhere. But they still needed to find Danny if they were going to feel successful.

Connor stopped and leaned against a tree "Abby, can we rest for a few minutes? I don't know how much more of this I can take without a break".

Abby was glad Connor could not see her face. The look of frustration would have been enough to push Connor into overdoing it and keep moving, but that was not what she wanted from him. She knew they had to stick together, but she really wished he would just stay put while she went ahead. Before turning to face Connor she put on her best face. "Ok Connor, we can rest here for a little while, but then we really need to get moving again. I don't know when it will start getting dark, but I don't want to get caught out in the open. We don't know where Danny went and we may be walking for awhile". She went over to where Connor was and forced him to sit down on the ground while she had a look at his ankle. She had not really looked at it in awhile and she needed to make sure nothing had changed. "Here let me take a look". As she examined his leg she saw that it looked more swollen than it did before. It had to be hurting him something awful.

Connor normally liked it when Abby touched him; even if it was accidental, but her inspection of his ankle was just a little more than he could handle "Hey, easy there Abby. How's it looking?"

"It's definitely more swollen. I just wish you would let me go on ahead while you rested your leg. You really need to stay off your ankle". She knew his answer, but it was worth trying. Maybe his pain would cloud his judgment and he would listen to her.

"No Abby, we need to stick together. We can't afford to become separated here. I'm sorry I am slowing you down. I just need a few more minutes of rest and then I will be as right as rain again".

Abby didn't try to change Connor's mind. She sat with him until he said he was ready to set off again. She helped him up and they resumed their trek. Abby thought that the rest actually made Connor worse. He appeared to be moving slower than before, but she didn't say anything.

Soon they were coming to a clearing and saw that there was a stream up ahead. Abby wondered if they should stop and fill their water bottles before continuing. As they came up closer they were shocked by what they saw. There were several bodies lying close to the stream, all of them appeared to be lying down, but on closer inspection they appeared to be dead. As Connor and Abby looked at them they could not help but notice how humanoid they looked. At the exact same moment it became apparent who they were looking at. These were the first humanoids that Helen was here to destroy. Were these bodies the result of Helens mission? As Abby looked around she saw that there were more bodies up around the bend. She thought it was ok to leave Connor here while she went over to inspect the other bodies. There were so many, she had to wonder if there were any left alive. As she walked forward she was once again shocked by the sight in front of her. "Connor, come quick".

The sound of Abby's scream made Connor freeze in place. This was something he never got use to hearing. He looked around for Abby and didn't see her right away. He struggled against the panic that was threatening to overtake him. He needed to get a hold of himself "Abby, where are you, I don't see you?"

"I'm up the hill around the bend, hurry Connor".

Connor moved faster than he thought was capable. As he hobbled around the bend he saw Abby standing there. His first instinct was to look around to see what had gotten Abby screaming. He didn't see anything and was about to ask her if everything was ok when he looked at the ground directly in front of Abby. He first saw the body of a raptor and then he saw the body of Helen. He walked over to Abby and stood next to her. They both just stood there staring.

"Connor, Helen's dead. It looks like she got what was coming to her. I wonder if Danny had anything to do with this, but if he did where is he know. This was the direction he came so he had to have been here". Abby walked closer to the body of Helen and then looked around at the other bodies of the dead humanoids. "Danny could be anywhere by now. It's getting dark, so I think we need to stop looking for today. We need to find some kind of shelter for the night and we can start looking again in the morning.

Connor didn't feel like arguing with Abby, but he didn't think he could go on anymore today. He leg was hurting him more than he wanted to admit.

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At the same time Abby and Connor were looking for shelter, Danny was making his way back to where the anomaly had disappeared. All of a sudden he became very excited. It wasn't an anomaly that caused a change in his demeanor, but it was the next best thing. He saw Connor's jacket hanging on one of the rocks. As he rushed over to it, he grabbed it to make sure it was real. It was most definitely real, but where was Connor?

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	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

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After Danny found Connor's jacket he started yelling out his name to see if he was close by. After a few minutes he gave up. There could only be one thing explaining why Connor was not here, and that was because he was out looking for both him and Helen. Deep down he knew there could be another explanation; such as being eaten by a dinosaur, but he didn't want to think about it.

Danny noticed that it was getting dark again and he decided to make camp. He didn't want to go out searching in the dark for fear of getting lost. He figured that Connor and Abby (at least he hoped Abby was with him) would eventually make their way back to this spot and they would find him waiting there for them. He just hoped he didn't have to wait long. If he got stuck here, he would need to make some provisions for his new home and the longer he waited the harder it would be for him.

It was starting to feel cold so the first thing he did was collect some sticks for a fire. The fire would provide him with some warmth, but it would also be a beacon to Connor and Abby if they were trying to make their way back to this site. If not he just hoped that where ever they were, they too had a comfortable place to stay.

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While Connor had rested his leg, Abby was able to find suitable shelter for the both of them.

Abby had gathered up some sticks for a fire and asked Connor to get one started. After he had been trying for about 10 minutes Abby came over and got it started in about 1 minute. As she got the flames to spread over the sticks, she was surprised that he didn't have his usual smart ass remarks as to why he couldn't get the fire started. This was not like him, but she didn't know if she should start worrying just yet. There were plenty of other things to worry at the moment and each of them took precedence over Connor's feelings.

Once both were settled for the night Abby looked through their packs for some food. "So Connor, what's for dinner tonight? Will it be some more beef jerky and crisps or nuts and fruit leather?"

He looked up as he responded to Abby, "I don't feel very hungry right now. If you don't mind I think I'll just go to sleep now. Will you be ok while I sleep?"

"Yeah, sure Connor, I'll be ok. You've done a lot of walking on that leg and need the sleep". The fact that he turned down food before falling asleep didn't sound like him. As she ate her beef jerky followed by a side of nuts, she stared at Connor while he fell asleep. From where she sat he looked alright, but looks could be deceiving. She didn't know if his fall had done more damage than was originally thought, but he hadn't said anything to make her think otherwise. She decided she would keep an eye on him and check his condition in the morning.

Sleep was starting to appeal to Abby after finishing her food and feeling the warmth of the fire. She thought it would be ok if they both slept at the same time since the spot she found appeared to be relatively safe. Before long, she was asleep.

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The sun rose over the hill exposing the most intense and brilliant light Abby had ever seen. For some reason the sun looked bigger than it did in her own time. And the color was something she had not expected. It was the most vibrant yellow she had ever seen. She didn't know if the reason was that she never took the time to watch the sun rise in her own time or if it was because the air here was so pure. She really wished she had brought her camera with her; this would have been an awesome picture for her wall back home.

After allowing the sun to warm her up she went over to check on Connor. She was not surprised that he was still asleep; he always did like sleeping in. "Hey Connor, time to get up and eat some breakfast before we start our search again.

He heard his name being called, but didn't feel like answering. He felt like shit and really just wanted to stay right where he was.

Abby had started pulling food out of the backpack when she called out to him again; assuming he had not heard her before "Connor, get up, time for breakfast." When she didn't get a response she went over to where he was laying and touched his shoulder "Connor, come on, time to get up".

He felt his shoulder being touched and knew it belonged to Abby, "Oh, come on Abby, let me sleep some more, I'm not ready to get up yet".

She was not going to take this from him. They had to get moving if they were going to pick up Danny's trail. This time she grabbed Connor and started pulling him up "Sorry about this Connor, but you really need to get up".

"Stop Abby, that really hurts". He tried his very best to pull away from her grip.

She thought he was just using this as an attempt to get her to leave him alone "Come on Connor, I'm serious. If you don't get up right now I'm going to have to leave you behind".

He didn't want to be left behind, but he also didn't feel well enough to go with Abby either. "I'm sorry Abby, but I just don't feel that good. You may have to leave me here".

She was immediately sitting by his side to get a better look at his face. She could see the beads of sweat that were resting under his eyes and on his forehead. "Connor, what's wrong?" She checked him over and found that he forehead felt a little warm, "How long have you been feeling like this?"

By now Connor was sitting up resting against the wall of rock they had taken shelter by. If he had been felling better he would have enjoyed all the fuss Abby was making over him. "I don't really remember when I started feeling like this. All I remember is feeling really tired last night and going to sleep. Then when I woke up this morning I felt horrible".

She thought back to last night "well, that might explain why you weren't hungry last night. I'm sorry I didn't notice Connor". She was very worried about him and didn't have the first clue as to what to do for him since she didn't really know what was wrong with him. She had to make a tough decision, but she knew it was the right one. "I need to get you back to the ARC; do you think you have enough energy to get back to the anomaly?"

"What about Danny, we have to find him Abby. We can't leave him out here all alone. I think you should just leave me here while you go and look for him. I'll be alright". He hoped he sounded convincing.

"No Connor, I need to get you back. I have no clue as to what's wrong with you and I can't take any chances. We can come back and look for Danny another time. We can leave him a note telling him that we are coming back for him and to stay alive until we get back".

She went over to their backpacks and put everything into one pack, which she then slung over her back. She went over to Connor, "Come on Connor, I need you to get up. Lean on me as much as you need to, but we have to get moving". She helped him up and was surprised by how much he relied on her. She just hoped they could make it back to where they came into this world. She also had to keep in mind that once they got through their first anomaly there were at least 2 more to go through before they got home.

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Abby and Connor were moving very slowly and had taken a few breaks already, but were at least making some progress. She didn't like that he was so quiet though. "How are you doing Connor, do you need to rest again?"

"I can make it Abby, I'm afraid if we stop again I may not want to get up again".

She had to accept his response, although she was secretly grateful that he didn't want to stop. The longer they kept moving the sooner they would get to where they had to go.

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Danny had woken up to what looked like a beautiful day. He just wished he were enjoying it in his own time. His outlook on the whole situation had not changed much after getting a decent night's sleep. He needed to work on a plan to find out what happened to Connor and Abby. He knew that Connor had at least been here at some point and had left his jacket. He didn't know if this was intentionally done by him or it he had just forgot it.

He decided to spend the morning making his camp at the base of one of the larger rocks. He figured he could climb up the rock every so often to scout out the surrounding areas for any signs of his friends, and then move back down to the ground when needed.

After his camp was done, He had tested out the rock and took his first watch. He had found the rock to be a somewhat comfortable place to sit, even after sitting there for over an hour. The only problem he had with his spot was the sun. It was shining down on him and it was starting to make him sleepy. He stood up and stretched his arms and legs. Just as he was about to sit down he saw something off in the distance. Whatever it was it was not moving very fast, but he couldn't make out what it was. He didn't even know if what he saw was real, since a hot sun was known to make people hallucinate.

He kept his eyes fixed on the moving entity until it came close enough for him to see what it was. What he saw made him question his sanity. Whatever he saw looked just like Abby and Connor, but could it really be this easy. Did he really find the both of them so quickly?

He was soon off the rock and running in the direction of where he thought they were. Before he knew it he was standing several yards away from his target; and what a lovely target it was. Standing before him were Abby and Connor, only Connor didn't look so good. Neither of them had seen him yet because Connor was looking down on the ground and Abby was concentrating too much on keeping him upright.

He started running and screaming all at the same time "Abby, Connor, I can't believe we found each other".

As soon as Abby heard Danny's voice she stopped dead in her tracks and looked up. She saw him running toward them at full speed. Before she got a chance to respond he was standing directly in front of her. "Oh Danny, I can't believe we found you". She would have given him a great big hug, but Connor was leaning heavily on her. She wasn't even sure if he had looked up when Danny was shouting their names. "Danny, you need to help me with Connor".

Danny went over and relieved Abby of her burden "Connor, I've got you now. It's great to see you". He gave him a hug, but all he got in return was a few grunts of pain. "Sorry Connor, here let's sit you down over here". He led both of them to a nearby rock and turned to Abby, "What's wrong with him?"

"I don't really know, but I figured I had to get him back right away so we were on our way back to same spot that brought us to this time". She finally got her hug in with Danny, "Oh Danny, I am so glad we found you. I thought I would have to take him back by myself and then come back to find you".

He looked down at Connor and started checking him over. He noticed that Connor was very quiet, which was not like him at all. He must really be feeling awful. "You're right; we need to get him back. Where is the anomaly devise?"

Abby handed it to him and said, "I think we found Helen's, but it was damaged, so Connor took the power source from that one and added it to the other one we had".

"Well, there is only one way to find out if this detector can open up anomalies both ways, but we need to get back to where the anomaly had opened up and hope it takes us back to our previous year". He helped Abby with Connor and slowly the three of them were moving.

It had taken them a little longer to get back to their original spot, but they were here now. "All right, let's hope this works", Danny pointed the anomaly device in front of where they were standing and pushed the button.

Soon the 3 of them were back in the same spot they were in before entering this era. Now all they needed to do was get back to where the other anomaly had transported them from the future era.

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	4. Chapter 4

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Once the 3 of them had stepped through the anomaly Danny took charge of getting them clear of it and closing it before anything else came through. He helped Abby move Connor to a place that was more comfortable.

"I think we should rest here for a few minutes and then keep going. I think I can remember the way back to where the other anomaly was".

Abby looked over at Danny, "I know the way as well so with the both of us we are sure to find it". She was sitting next to Connor who had nothing to add to their conversation.

Danny had noticed Connor's silence as well. He went over to where they were and sat down. "Abby, were both going to need to help Connor to the next spot. If we know one thing about this time, it's filled with raptors. If we come across any we are going to need to run like the wind, are you ready for that?"

She nodded her head, but said nothing. The thought of having to run from the raptors while helping Connor was something she hoped they didn't have to do.

After resting for about 10 minutes the 3 of them got up and started cautiously making their way to where the other anomaly had been. Connor was in the middle of Abby and Danny who were helping him walk.

Connor felt very weak and knew that he would never have made it on his own. He looked around as they were walking and knew that they were getting close to where they first entered this world. He liked the idea of going home, but they still had one more obstacle to get through and he was sure he would never make it through, even with help. The creatures they battled in the future were fierce and intelligent predators that were good about picking out the weakest in the bunch and taking them out. If it came down to someone having to sacrifice themselves, he would do it if it meant saving Danny and Abby.

So far they were doing quite well; there were no signs of raptors or any other predators. Danny was beginning to think they would make it through this world without any trouble, but as luck would have it, he heard something. He looked around to find the source of the noise and saw that there were about 3 raptors fighting amongst themselves for a better view. "Abby, I don't want to alarm you, but we may be having company on this trip after all?"

Abby looked around and saw the company that he was referring to, "I suppose we couldn't pretend they didn't see us".

The raptors gave up fighting each other once they realized there were 3 people on the menu and enough to go around. They started pursuing their prey.

As soon as Danny saw the raptor's coming he yelled "run". He squeezed Connor's arm a little harder and started forcing him to run. He saw that Abby had already figured out his plan and was pushing Connor on her side.

They were only minutes away from reaching the designated area, but the raptors were closing in. Connor was beginning to feel like they would never make it because he was holding them up. He couldn't let this happen and had to let Danny and Abby know what he was thinking, "I can't keep this up much longer. You need to just let me go and I will try and hold them off while you get away".

"That's not going to happen, Connor. Either we all make it or none of us make it", Danny could tell that this was hard on him, so he made a quick decision. He grabbed the anomaly device and shouted, "Abby here, take the device and be ready to open up the anomaly. I am going to carry Connor the rest of the way". They stopped running long enough for Danny to hand over the device and grab Connor, swinging him over his shoulders.

"There it is Danny, were gonna make it". Abby had a firm grasp on the device and started pointing it in the same direction they were running in. There was no time to spare so she had to make sure the anomaly was open ahead of time.

With the device pointed in the right direction, Abby opened the anomaly. In a few seconds they would be able to run through it, but they had to get there first. "Come on Danny, were almost there".

"Were going to make it Abby, but I need to make sure you're ready to close it once we are through. I don't want any of these raptors following us". He looked behind them and saw that the raptors were closing in. They were a little too close for comfort and he needed something to distract them. On one shoulder he was carrying Connor and on the other shoulder he had his backpack. With all the strength he had, he flung the pack behind them. To his relief it caused the closest one to stumble, which caused a domino effect on the other 2 raptors.

This gave the three of them just enough time to enter the anomaly and hopefully enough time for Abby to close it once they were on the other side.

As Danny ran through he was preparing himself for the worse. The world they had left was desolate and full of the nastiest predators they had encountered so far. He hoped they were not waiting for them on the other side, but just in case he was ready to throw both himself and Connor to the floor to avoid a fight.

As they exited the anomaly, they found themselves surrounded.

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Present day where Sarah and Becker were waiting.

Sarah and Becker were prepared to go through the anomaly in hopes of finding their missing friends. They were bringing several other soldiers and plenty of weapons since they were unsure of what awaited them on the other side. They knew the types of predators that were found in this time, but they hoped there were none in sight when they stepped through.

Once they were through, Becker took charge and had his soldiers form a circle; with their weapons at the ready. They all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the area was clear.

Sarah looked around and thought it looked like a war zone. There didn't seem to be any people around and there was nothing but decay and destruction. She had heard the descriptions from Danny when he and the rest of the group had come back from this time and he had painted the scene quite vividly, but seeing it with her own eyes made it all the more real. She followed Becker's directions and stuck close to him. He had warned her to do everything he said, and from the look of this place she intended to do just that.

"There is no sign of them so we'll have to look around, but I want all of us to stick together. If you see anything I want you to send out a silent signal". Becker and his group started making their way around, not really knowing which way their friends had gone. He was at least grateful for one thing though; there was no sign of the predators.

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Danny, Abby and Connor found themselves surrounded by a group of people as soon as they stepped through the anomaly. They had not expected to have anyone greet them on the other side and it took each of them by surprise. Danny pulled Connor off his shoulder and helped him stand on his own before he took a good look at their surroundings. Instead of a dark, devastated and decaying room, he found it to be very bright with several people pointing weapons at them. As he scanned his eyes around the room he saw that all the machines that were once battered and broken now appeared to be brand new and in good working condition. He finally settled his eyes on one particular man who appeared to be in charge. "Who are you?"

The man walked up to Danny and studied him for a few seconds before replying "the names Lieutenant Becker, and might I ask who you are?"

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	5. Chapter 5

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Danny stared at the man who called himself Lieutenant Becker. He had to confirm what he thought he just heard, "did you just say your name was Becker?"

"I did, but I am still waiting for your name".

"Quinn, Danny Quinn".

A response was uttered in the room, but it didn't come from the lieutenant, instead it came from a woman who up until then had remained out of sight. "Oh my god, if this is Danny Quinn then the other 2 must be Abby Maitland and Connor Temple". The woman went straight for the 3 of them stopping directly in front of Connor. "We thought you were dead".

Danny and Abby both looked very confused by this woman's statement. Connor was just trying his best to stand up straight.

Danny wanted to find out why they thought the 3 of them were dead, "what do you mean by that. Will someone please explain what is going on here?"

Before the woman could answer Danny's question, Connor slumped toward the floor but was caught by the lieutenant before he actually made it.

Abby and Danny both bent down to check on Connor after the Lieutenant had eased him to the floor. Abby put her hand on his head, "Connor, can you hear me? He's burning up; we need to get him some help".

Lieutenant Becker started shouting orders for someone to bring a gurney for Connor and to take him to the infirmary.

Within minutes Connor was laying on a gurney and one of the men started pushing it out of the room. Abby and Danny both started following him when they were stopped by the woman. "Don't worry; Connor will be well taken care of. You can go see him once they figure out what's wrong with him. So, to answer your question, my name is Trina Wells. I don't know if you realize this, but you have been missing for the past 27 years".

Abby's eyes grew wide, "What, 27 years, but how. We came back through the anomaly at the exact same spot. We should have come back to the same spot we left".

Trina was sensing the unease in her guests. "I think the both of you should sit down and eat some; you must be famished". She turned to one of the men and asked them to get some food while she led them to a couple of chairs. "Here, why don't you take a seat while the some food and a room are prepared". She waited for the pair to sit down before asking, "Now tell me why you thought you would have come back to the same spot, I don't understand".

Danny was the first to respond, "When we first came to this time everything was in ruins. There was not a soul alive as it had been overrun with predators. This is what we expected to come back to".

"Are you sure the anomaly was in the same spot as before?" Trina looked at Danny waiting for a response.

"Both Abby and I were convinced the spot was the same one. Is it possible that a few feet could mean a change in the time but not the place?" This was probably a farfetched possibility on Danny's part, but he was confused.

"We have not been able to prove that, but what we do know is that an anomaly opens in the same spot each time, the only thing different is the time. Do you think it is possible that you really did come back to the same spot and just forgot what this place was like?"

Danny shook his head, "No, this place was hard to forget, everything here was in shambles. I remember exactly what it looked like".

Abby had been quietly listening to conversation trying hard to not worry about Connor when she had an idea, "what if this is the same place and time, but something we did in the past caused it to change?"

"You may have something there, but I think we can talk about it later. Right now you both need to eat something and get a little rest". Trina got up from the table and said, "I think I will go check on your friend while you eat. I'll have the lieutenant escort you to a more comfortable room".

"Could I come with you, I don't think I can rest until I've seen Connor". Abby was concerned for her friend and she really just wanted to stay with him.

Trina became very adamant with her response, "I really think you should eat something first. Your friend has the best care possible so you don't have to worry about anything. I assure you I will come back and let you know how he is". She left before Abby could say anything.

The lieutenant led both Danny and Abby to a room that contained a very comfortable looking couch and recliner, and right in the middle of the room was a table filled with food. Both were hungry and momentarily forgot about everything while they ate.

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Trina went to check on Connor and was happy to find him awake, "how are you feeling Connor?"

Connor looked up from the bed he was currently occupying and said "I'm not sure, I'm still pretty tired. When can I see my friends?

"All in good time, but we want to make sure you make a full recovery". Trina went over the computer and accessed his medical record, "Well it looks like you're going to be ok, but you'll need to stay off your leg for awhile. It also appears you developed a blood clot after you broke your ankle. It was traveling up toward your heart and had we not gotten to you when we did you may have died. I would say you were very lucky Mr. Temple".

Connor had already been told this so he really didn't want to waste time talking about it, "honestly, I really am feeling better. Can they at least come here then? I promise to stay put if you let me see them".

"As I've already told you; all in good time. I think it's time you got a little rest, and then perhaps you can see your friends". Trina retrieved a syringe from the counter and inserted it into the IV drip that was flowing into Connor's arm. "Here, this should help you fall asleep".

"I don't need anything to help me sleep; I really just want to see my friends". He was determined to see them and tried to sit up, but as soon as he did a dizzy spell hit him and he fell back into his pillow. He managed to look at Trina and say "Wow, what did you give me" before falling fast asleep.

Trina covered him up with a blanket to make sure he was comfortable before she left.

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Trina found Abby and Danny relaxing on the couch when she walked in, "I hope the food was to your liking. Well I just came from seeing Connor and he is doing fine. He did manage to break his ankle so he will need to stay off it for awhile. The break seemed to have caused a blood clot to develop; it was slowly making its way to his heart. Had we not gotten to him when we did he most likely would have died. We have him on a blood thinner to break up the clot and to prevent any new ones from forming. He's also on an antibiotic since it appears he may have picked up some kind of infection".

Abby was sitting on the edge of the couch feeling much more alert now that she knew about Connor, "That's great, can I go see him now?"

"I gave him something to help him sleep, but you can go see him when he wakes up".

Abby seemed satisfied with this answer but Danny felt otherwise. He felt like they were deliberately trying to keep them apart from Connor. "We would like to sit in his room until he wakes up, if that is ok with you".

Trina sensed some hostility in Danny's words, "You both need your rest as well and if you're sitting with Connor you may not get any. I promise that first thing in the morning you can go see him. Now the couch pulls out into a bed and the recliner is very comfy, so please get some rest. If you need anything else please let us know". She walked over to the door and said, "We will talk more about everything that has happened in the morning, Good Night".

Danny waited for her to leave before talking to Abby, "do you get the feeling they don't want us to see Connor?"

Abby thought about it before responding, "Yeah it does".

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	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

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Abby and Danny had managed to sleep long enough to feel rested, but they still felt uneasy. Breakfast had been brought to them and when they asked about Connor they were told to talk to Trina. When they asked if they could see Trina they were told that she was busy, but would find time to talk to them later. They were anxious to see Connor and figure out where they were and how they were going to get home.

Abby was starting to get desperate, "Danny, we need to find a way out of here. I need to see Connor and make sure he is ok".

Danny felt the same way, "I know Abby, but we need to find out what is going on first. For some reason they don't want us to see Connor and we need to know why. Why don't you eat some of this food they brought us and maybe I'll have come up with some ideas".

"I'll eat something, but if you don't come up with anything I'm leaving without you. There is something odd about this world and all I want to do is get back to our own time".

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Trina didn't know how long she could keep the friends apart before they caught on, but she was going to do her best. Right now Connor was in no shape to move, but he could not be allowed to see his friends either. She needed to talk to Lt. Becker so they could sort out this unexpected mess.

Ever since yesterday, Lt. Becker was not in a good mood. The arrival of 3 people thought to have died sometime in the distant past was not what he had been expecting, but now that they were here he had no clue as to what to do with them. He didn't exactly understand why Danny and Abby were being kept apart from Connor, but Trina said she had her reasons. She said it had something to do with their conversation last night and she needed time to think, so it was best to keep the 3 apart.

Trina found Lt. Becker in the main control room, "So, what should we do with our guests. They are getting impatient and what to be together, but I don't think we can allow that just now".

"But why Trina, you have yet to explain to me why they have to be kept apart".

"They said they had come back through the same anomaly, but things didn't look the same way it had when they had last left it. Abby said something about the possibility of their extended absence altering their past and future so we need time to think about this".

Lt. Becker listened to her, but he was still confused. He never understood much about the technicalities of their job; his only concern was to keep everyone safe. "But I still don't understand why they have to be kept apart?"

"I need time to think so for the time being we need to keep them apart. I don't want any plans being made by the 3 of them since whatever they do could have a drastic affect on us. I need you to talk to them and keep them busy, OK?"

"All right, I'll think of something".

Trina gave him a quick hug before leaving. She knew she could count on him. She made her way to the room where Danny and Abby were. As soon as she entered the room she could tell they were not happy with how they were being treated.

Danny was first to get up and go over to Trina, "Well it's about time you got here. We would like to see Connor now?"

"You can come with me". She didn't want to start up a conversation so she decided to just lead them to Lt. Becker.

As they walked, Danny kept a close eye on their surroundings and made sure to memorize the route they were taking. It was always good to know this in case a hasty departure was needed.

As for Abby she had no time to notice anything. She was too anxious to see Connor and she was annoyed that they were walking to slow. "Are we almost there?"

Trina stopped at a door and opened it, "Please go inside. He's expecting you".

Both Danny and Abby said "Thank You" as they entered the room, but instead of seeing Trina follow them in, they heard the door being shut. Danny looked behind them and said, "Where did she go?"

"I told her to bring you to me".

Danny turned around to see who was talking and saw that it was Lt. Becker. "Hey, she said we were going to see Connor, so where is he".

"Please sit down. I would like to talk to you before you see him".

Abby was getting scared, "Why, has something happened to him. Is he all right? I want to see him right now". She was beyond agitated at this point.

"He's ok; he is currently resting at the moment. I thought this would be a good time to talk". He took a seat at the head of the table and gestured for them to do the same.

Danny was reluctant at first but thought it was the only way they might learn some answers. He pulled a seat out for Abby and then took the one next to her. "What is it you want to discuss?"

"It's hard for me to believe that I am actually sitting in this room with you. When I was younger I heard a lot about you from my mother. I almost feel like I know you".

Abby interrupted the lieutenant and asked "What does this have to do with Connor?"

He acted like he didn't hear her and continued, "You see, you actually knew my parents; Kyle and Sarah Becker, but to you they were known as Captain Becker and Sarah Page".

"You're their son? Where are they, are they here somewhere?" Danny had thought about the last name when he first introduced himself and had to wonder, but had soon forgotten about it after Connor had fallen ill.

"No, I'm sorry but they are not here. They both died some time ago. They spent a lot of time looking for you, but died trying. It's funny though, if they had just stopped looking for you and waited here with me, you would have come home all on your own".

Both Danny and Abby were silent after hearing about their friends, but Danny thought that if they got home to their own time neither one would have to die. "So, now we know a little more about you; that's great, but I still don't see what this has to do with not letting us see Connor".

"It doesn't have anything to do with it, but from what I have been told he is not ready for visitors just yet and I thought we could get to know one another better. I didn't want to miss this opportunity to talk to you".

Abby looked at the lieutenant and said, "Why isn't he ready for visitor's; is there more to his condition that you haven't told us about? Please we need to see him".

Lt. Becker turned to Abby, "I promise you we are doing everything we know how to do. I must admit his condition is more serious than we first thought, so we may be moving him to the clinic for more specialized help".

Abby was practically in tears, "I just want to see him, why can't you let me see him".

"He is heavily sedated and probably wouldn't even know you were there. I know you have been promised several times already, but you will have to accept one more. You will see him soon. But in the meantime I have prepared a little tour of the place. A lot has changed and we thought you might like to see it".

Danny decided to play it cool, "We accept your offer of a tour, but if we do not see our friend soon we will just have to leave and find him ourselves". He could tell that Abby was just about to object, but he whispered something in her ear and she complied with his decision.

Lt. Becker went over to another door at the back of room and opened it. He was talking to someone briefly before a young woman came out. "Danny, Abby, this is Isabelle, she will be the one conducting the tour.

Isabelle came up to Danny and Abby and introduced herself, "Hello, you can just call me Belle. So shall we get started then?"

Lt. Becker watched as Belle led the two out of the room. She was instructed to keep the two of them busy for the rest of the day giving them more time. He needed to go talk to Trina and work something out. He had a bad feeling about all of this and just wished the 3 of them had never returned.

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	7. Chapter 7

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Lt. Becker found Trina outside of Connor's room. She looked a little upset as she was discussing something with Connor's nurse. She stopped talking when she saw him and dismissed the nurse. "Where have you been, we have a problem with Connor?"

"What kind of problem? I was just taking care of our other guests like you ordered".

"Connor became very agitated when we told him he couldn't see his friends. He was making such a fuss that I had him sedated. I don't think we are going to be able to keep this up for much longer. I have decided to have him moved. If Danny and Abby were to find him they could make their way back to the past and there is no telling what that would do for us".

The lieutenant was still confused and wanted to know exactly why they could not return to the past. "What could possibly happen if they go back to where they came from?"

She looked at him like he was the dumbest person alive, "Are you daft or something, if they go back to the past everything that we know to be true will cease to exist".

He ignored the first part of her comment, "we don't know that. For all we know none of this may exist if they don't go back".

"Our history does not have a part where they came back; therefore we know our present day can only exist if they never return". She was frustrated at the lieutenant and hoped he finally understood what she was saying.

He took his time processing the information Trina had given him. When the truth of it finally dawned on him his eyes grew wide, "OHHHH…, we can't have them ever go back, can we".

"Exactly, so will you please help me get rid of Conner then"?

Lt. Becker looked shocked at what he was being asked to do, "I don't want to be a party to murder. Why does he have to die"?

For the second time in the last 5 minutes, Trina looked at him like he was the dumbest person, "I'm not asking you to kill him; I just need you to move him somewhere else".

The lieutenant looked relieved until he thought about Danny and Abby, "where does that leave the other two then"?

"I don't really care what happens to them, but I figured there is no risk of them going back without their friend, so we need to keep them apart".

"But what if they do get together, then what"? He stood there trying to read her face; waiting for her to reply.

It took her a moment to answer his question. "We can deal with that later, but please just do as I ask".

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	8. Chapter 8

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**Author's Note: This is the second version of this chapter that I have posted so for those of you who thought you had already read chapter 8 I have made some major changes and you will want to read it again.  
I didn't like where I had the story going so I pulled the chapter and have re-written it. I have also made some changes to all the chapters before this, but most of them are just grammatical changes. I had written the previous chapters when I was still new to the site and newish to writing, but now that I am getting a better handle on how to write I thought I would make the changes so that I could feel better about the whole story. Every time I would read the older chapters I saw problems that I knew I just had to fix. **

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Danny and Abby walked around with Belle while she showed them everything; well not everything. They had wished that she had shown them the medical ward since that was where Connor was; or had been.

As Belle was leading them into another room that really didn't look much different from the last one they saw, Abby finally had all she could take. She stopped dead in her tracks and finally said what had been on her mind all day, "I think it is time you let us see Connor. I am not going any further with you until you take me to where ever he is".

Belle turned around and looked at Abby. From the way Abby had asked to see Connor, she could tell they were more than friends. She really sympathized with Abby, but didn't want to get in trouble by telling them anything. "I've been told that your friend is no longer on the base, but I am sure that you will be able to see him as soon as you can, why don't we continue with the tour".

Abby didn't like the response and it was clear in her tone of voice, "I don't give a damn about the tour, I just want to see Connor".

Belle looked around nervously hoping that Abby's raised voice didn't alert anyone to a potential problem, "Look, I don't know where he is, if I did I would take you to see him". She walked closer to Abby, "Now I suggest that you come with me so that we can continue the tour".

Danny could see the tension growing between the women, but he sensed something about Belle that may work to their advantage. "You know something but you're not telling us, why?"

Belle turned to him, "Look, I don't really know that much about your friend and what they are doing with him, but if you really want to find out more I suggest you put on the appearance of someone who is content with the tour and one who does not wish to cause trouble. They are watching us and if you really want me to help I would suggest you do as I say".

This was not the answer Danny was hoping for. It only caused him to have more questions, but from the tone of her voice he knew he would get nowhere. There was however something honest in the way she said it and he decided they should do as they were told. He knew that to continue he would have to convince Abby. "All right, we will continue but please let me talk to Abby for a minute".

"Ok, I'll give you a minute, but after that I am afraid it will bring attention to you and believe me, you don't want that".

Danny gently grabbed Abby's arm and pulled her into the corner. He could tell she was agitated by his action, "Abby, there is something going on here and I think that we need to do as Belle said. There is something about her that I think we can trust".

Abby looked pissed and kept looking over Danny's shoulder to see where Belle was, "I don't want to keep doing this Danny. I just want to find Connor and get the hell out of here. We can't trust her, we only just met her".

"Abby, if you trust me then please do as I ask. I promise you that we will find Connor and get out of here soon, but I think we need Belle on our side to find out where they have him and more importantly, why they have him".

"I do trust you Danny, but this is getting us nowhere".

Danny was about to say something else to Abby when he was interrupted. He turned around and found Belle looking very nervous.

"We have to go now, they are wondering why we have stopped and they may be sending someone to find out". She kept looking behind her waiting for their answer.

Danny gently grabbed Abby's arm again and pulled her out of the corner. He turned to Belle and said, "Lead the way".

The three of them continued the rest of the tour and luckily no one came to ask why they had stopped. Danny knew that Abby was not happy with him but he could see that she willing to do as he had asked.

-

-

Connor opened his eyes and found that he was strapped to a gurney, "Hello, is anyone around?"

He sat there waiting for someone to come in the room, but when no one showed up he decided to try and get out of leather straps that were holding him down. Nothing he did seem to help. He laid his head back on the pillow to gain back his strength so he could try again. He was still feeling groggy from whatever they had given him.

As he lay there, the door to the room opened up. He looked up and instantly recognized the woman.

Trina had been told that Connor was ready to be transported, but wanted to come and see him. "Well, how are you feeling Mr. Temple?"

"I would feel a lot better if you told me why I was strapped to this gurney".

"We are going to take you somewhere else for treatment".

Connor was confused, "Why, I'm feeling better. Is there something wrong with me that you haven't told me?"

"No, but we just want to make sure you make the best recovery and we don't feel you can do that here".

"Will Abby and Danny be coming with me?"

"No, they are going to stay here, but when you are better you can come back and join them, OK?"

Connor was about to protest when someone else entered the room.

"Ah, your ride is here Mr. Temple. Once you're settled I'll come and see how you are doing".

As someone wheeled Connor away he struggled against the leather straps holding him down and called out to anyone who was listening, "I want to see my friends; let me out of this so I can see my friends".

Trina ignored him as she walked the opposite way.

-

-

Belle was done with the tour and was leading them back to their room when Danny stopped to rest against a window. He wasn't very tired, but any chance he got to look outside he took it.

Belle looked back when she realized the two were no longer following her, "Hey, we really need to get back. Your tour is done for the day".

Danny stared out the window briefly occupied by something, but when he felt a hand on his shoulder he came back to his senses, "Sorry, I was just tired and wanted to rest before we moved on. I never realized this place was so big".

Belle tried to pull his arm toward her, "Come on, we really shouldn't linger her too long".

Danny was once again occupied as he looked out the window. He had been watching a van that had pulled up and opened the back. There were several people standing about; waiting for something, but he couldn't see enough to know the answer. When he felt his arm being tugged he pushed Belle away, "Wait, I just need another minute".

As he watched he saw them wheeling a gurney toward the van, and if he wasn't mistaken they had Connor strapped on it. "Hey, that's Connor". He looked toward Belle, "how do I get down there? They have our friend".

By then Abby was also looking out the window trying to get a good look. She saw that it was definitely Connor and that he was struggling against the straps, "Hey, it looks like he is trying to sit up". She shot a look at Belle, "I thought they said he was not up to visitor's, but he looks perfectly healthy to me?"

Belle looked out the window and didn't really know where they were taking Connor or why. She was told to keep Danny and Abby occupied but that was all. She knew who they were, but didn't understand why their arrival was being kept secret. "Look, I don't really know all the much, but for some reason they don't want anyone to know you're back".

Danny roughly grabbed Belles arms and forced her to look at him, "Tell me how to get down there".

"You're hurting me".

"If you don't tell me, you'll be hurting even more"

"Ok, Ok, let me go and I'll show you".

"Can we trust you".

"You don't really have a choice now do you".

Danny let go, "alright, lead the way".

Belle looked around first and then led them to a back stairway that she knew would lead them to their friend. She didn't know if they would make it in time since they had to go down 2 flights of stairs.

Once they were at the stair well Danny pushed Belle aside as he and Abby ran down the stairs. When they reached the bottom they opened the door just in time to see the back of the van door being closed. They could just make out the silhouette of their friend, but nothing more.

They ran outside of the building as the van drove off. Danny stopped and pulled Abby to him, "We have to stop and think about this. There is something going on here and we can't just go running off after Connor without knowing".

Abby was trying to pull free of Danny, "But Danny, we need to go after him. It didn't look like he wanted to go with them".

"I know, but if we try to follow them they may take us as well and then we will be of no use to him". He made eye contact with Abby and said, "We'll get him back and then get out of this place, I promise".

Danny led Abby to the side of the building where they could get a view of van as it drove off. He needed to know which direction they had gone in if they were going to follow him. When they could no longer see the van he turned back and found Belle had followed them. "Do you know how we can get out of here?"

Belle looked nervous and knew she shouldn't help, but there was something wrong about this whole thing, "I have a car over in the parking lot. If we leave now it may be some time before they realize were gone".

The three of them made it to the car where Belle dug her keys out of her pocket, "I think you should hide in the back. I have to drive through the guarded entrance, but they usually don't check the cars that are leaving. Just keep your heads down and we should be able to get out of here.

Danny and Abby did as they were told. After a few minutes they heard the all clear from Belle. They sat up and saw that they were driving in the same direction of the van.

"Do you know where they may have taken him?"

"I have an idea".

-

-

Trina had just been informed that Belle and their two guests were nowhere to be found and she was not happy about it. She had yelled at the poor person who told her the news and ordered them to get Lt. Becker.

She had just gotten done ordering a full search of the place when she was told that Belle had just left for the day.

When Lt. Becker came into the room Trina was furious, "You said we could trust Belle to keep them busy, but instead she helped them escape".

The lieutenant didn't have anything to offer for his cadet's actions. "Well what are we going to do about it?"

"Were going to go and find them. I think they must have seen Connor being loaded onto the van since they left shortly after the van left. At least we know which direction they are headed".

-

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	9. Chapter 9

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-

It had been 4 days since Becker, Sarah and his men had arrived in this hostile world. They had searched every possible location for their friends, but found nothing. They were about to call off the search after two days of searching when the predators got the upper hand and cornered the group; killing all but 4 of them.

Becker had managed to save Sarah; but just barely and he only had two of him men left, which was not much to work with if they were going to find a way out.

The building they were forced into two days ago proved to be in better shape than most, which is probably why they were still alive. The room they were in had a large reinforced door and the walls were also in good shape. It was almost as if the room had been designed with the predators in mind, but there was no one left to verify this.

Becker had ordered his two officers to keep watch while he sat with Sarah. She had received a rather nasty gash in her leg and he wanted to make sure it didn't get infected.

"Becker, how are we going to get out of here? They seem to have the place surrounded and we don't have much fire power left".

Becker had been thinking about this and he could only come up with one idea, "We may just have to wait until were rescued. The people in our own time will eventually wonder what happened to us and send out a rescue party". Something told him this was a long shot, but he wanted to offer Sarah some kind of hope.

"Why would they send a rescue party, didn't they tell us that we were on our own before we left?"

"They did, but I can't believe they would just abandon us".

"I hope your right. Is there anymore water left, I'm pretty thirsty?"

Becker searched through his pack and found a few bottles left, "We don't have much; we need to conserve what we have".

Sarah looked disappointed. She was very thirsty and wasn't feeling her best at the moment, but she didn't want Becker to worry so she didn't say anything.

-

-

As Belle drove her car in the same direction that the van had gone, her two passengers were being very quiet; which gave her time to think about what she was doing.

She didn't have a good answer for why she was helping them, but something deep down told her that Trina was up to no good and needed to be stopped. She didn't have any idea why the friends had to be separated, but if she could help them then it would be worth losing her job. The only thing she liked about the job was getting to work with Lt. Becker, but he never paid much attention to her; especially after Trina entered the picture.

No one liked it when Trina had taken over the place, but no one did anything about it. It was never clear why anyone would have put her in charge, but they think it had to do with who her father was; which meant they were stuck with her. Her father was a very powerful man and usually got what he wanted.

It was thought among the lower ranking people that Trina and her father were only using the anomalies to collect the riches from the past. Trina went out on a lot of missions and always seemed to bring something back, but no one was ever allowed to know what it was. Whatever was brought back never showed up anywhere and shortly after coming back, Trina would start flaunting her wealth with anyone who was around.

It didn't really matter to Belle much. Trina usually just ignored her and let her go about her business. The only good thing about working at the ARC was getting to be around Lt. Becker; who she had met at the academy and secretly fallen in love with. But Trina had stripped away any ideas she may have had at landing him for her own. Lt. Becker seemed intrigued with Trina and rarely left her side.

Her thoughts were put on hold as she turned the car onto a side road. "Well, we are getting close, but I think it would be best if we went the rest of the way by foot. They may see us coming if we go driving up there".

Danny inspected the area they had just driven into, "How far is it from here?"

"About another mile, but the walk shouldn't be too hard. We will have the trees to keep us covered".

Belle parked the car where she was positive it would not be seen and the three of them got out for their mile trek through the woods.

-

-

Sarah and Becker were now entering their fifth day in captivity. They had been stuck with two other soldiers while the predators had the place surrounded, but when they finally ran out of supplies it was decided that the two soldiers would have to go out and either find some food and water or try and get back to the anomaly and bring back help. But things had gone horribly wrong.

Within 45 minutes of their departure, they radioed the captain and said they could see the spot where they first entered this world and were going to try and distract the creatures that they could see. They were still on the radio when Becker and Sarah heard a devastating sound; it was the sound of both the men screaming in agony. It was unclear what happened to them, but Becker knew they were now alone and that his men were all dead. He didn't know if he could protect Sarah and get her back to their time, but he would die trying.

Sarah was sitting in the corner of the room and she could tell that Becker had something to say, but he didn't seem to be able, "Were going to die here, aren't we Becker?"

He couldn't hide the facts from her and knew he owed her the only truth he could come up with. They were probably going to be the last people either one of them saw and it was not fair to keep up this charade any longer, "I don't know Sarah, but it doesn't look good. We have nothing to defend ourselves with and unless someone comes to rescue us, we probably won't see our friends again".

"You shouldn't blame yourself Becker; we all knew what we were getting ourselves into".

This didn't seem to make him feel any better. He went over to the corner and sat down next to Sarah, "You certainly do have a good outlook on this; how do you manage to do that?"

"I don't know; I try not to dwell on the bad things because there is always something better to hope for". She gave him a thoughtful look before continuing, "So, if we don't make it out of here, maybe we should get to know a little more about each other".

Becker didn't know if he liked this idea, but there was nothing left to do, "what kind of things do you want to know?"

"I don't know your first name, what is it?"

"It's Kyle".

She stared at him for a moment before saying, "You look like a Kyle".

As the two talked the light of day was disappearing; making their room dark once again. The last few days they were afraid to light up the room for fear that the predators would find them, so they just huddled together for comfort and warmth. The last two days also found the both of them growing closer to each other. It was their current situation that drew them together at first, but Sarah was starting to have feelings for the captain. She just wished they would make it out of there so she could see if those feeling were real and if the captain felt the same way.

-

-

Danny started to see a building off in the distance and figured this was where Belle was leading them to. "Hey Belle, is this where they took Connor?"

"Yeah it is. This building is out in the middle of nowhere and it is usually where they bring some of the creatures they find on their hunts. They don't think anyone knows about this place, but I have heard Lt. Becker talking about it more than once".

Abby was anxious to get inside and find Connor and she wasn't afraid to hide it, "What are we waiting for, let's get inside and get Connor. Then we can get out of this place".

Danny had to hold Abby back, "we need to study the layout of the building before we just go charging in. We don't want to get inside and then have no way of getting out. We need a plan".

Abby knew he spoke the truth, "I know Danny, but we are so close".

"We'll get him out Abby". He turned to Belle, "So, what can you tell me about this place; other than the things they house inside".

"I don't really know that much about the place; other than its existence. I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be much help to you".

"That's ok Belle, we'll just have to go and check out the perimeter of the place and figure out the best way of getting in. We can figure out the rest once we are inside". He didn't really like this plan, but there was no alternative.

They moved closer to the front of the building; all the while keeping out of sight. Once they saw the other side it was clear what they were up against. The place had a few large garage doors probably and a few windows off to the left, but other than that there didn't appear to be any other way in.

Danny had a look of disappointment on his face as he faced Abby, "They must enter through the garage door each time; which is going to make this a little trickier than I thought. Depending on what is on the other side of those doors, they may know were coming the minute we try and open one".

Abby looked at Danny, "How are we going to get in then?"

Danny looked at the windows, which didn't seem to be too hard to get to, "I think our only way is through the window, but we need to see inside before we try". He turned to Belle, "I don't suppose you have a pair of binoculars handy".

Danny didn't wait for an answer as he moved closer to the building. He looked around the perimeter for signs of security, but not seeing any he continued. When he was almost to the building he finally saw a few cameras; one mounted to the corner of a garage door and the other one mounted off to the side. He thought it was odd where the second one was located and decided to check it out, "You two wait here, I'm going to go and check out the other side of the building".

Danny returned after a few minutes, "I found one more entrance, but it's being watched. We need to deactivate the camera so that we can go in unnoticed".

Abby thought of his plan for a moment and then asked, "Won't they notice the camera not working and send someone out to find out why?"

Danny had a look of confidence on his face as he replied to Abby's question, "I'm counting on that".

-

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	10. Chapter 10

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-

After Danny had dismantled the camera above the door the three of them waited for someone to open the door and investigate. Danny wasn't sure how long this would take, but hoped it was soon since it would be getting dark soon.

Abby had been sitting against a tree while hugging her knees to her chest. She was ok with this plan at first, but they had been sitting here for quite some time now and she was getting restless, "What if this plan of yours doesn't work Danny, then what?"

Danny had been thinking the same thing and each time was unable to come up with a good idea, "I don't know Abby, we will probably have to go through the window then".

Belle had been quiet the whole time just watching the two people as they talked. It was at this point that she saw the door open. She threw a small rock at Danny in an attempt to his attention.

As soon as he felt the rock hit his arm he looked at Belle, "What was that for?"

Belle remained silent as she pointed to the door.

Danny's eyes lit up when he saw what she was pointing to. Without saying anything he moved as quickly and quietly as he knew how and got up behind the guy who was now staring up at the camera. Without warning Danny took the guy out and pulled him over to the where Abby and Belle were waiting. After tying their prisoner up the three of them made their way inside.

All three were relieved to find the area inside the door empty. They didn't know what to expect and were prepared for anything. Looking around they saw that they were standing in a long corridor that wound around the corner.

Danny took the lead and walked ahead to find out where the corridor led. As soon as he disappeared around the corner he was back again, "It looks like it just keeps going for a bit, but there are a few doors that I could see. I think we need to find out where the garage is since this is the first place they brought Connor".

Abby was anxious to get moving and had another plan, "Maybe we should split up. If there were two groups we could cover more ground".

"No, we need to stick together. We don't need to lose anyone else".

Abby knew he would say that and reluctantly followed him.

-

-

The ride over had been pretty uneventful for Connor. He had remained strapped to the gurney the whole time he was in the back of the van. There were two men who had sat with him, but every question he asked was just ignored. He just wished he knew where he was going and why he wasn't allowed to see Abby and Danny.

When the van finally stopped and he was pushed out of the back of it, he saw that he was inside a large room filled with other vehicles; so he could only assume it was the garage.

One of the men pushed the gurney into an elevator and proceeded to push a button. Connor couldn't see the panel to know where he was going, but as the elevator moved he knew he was going down. It only took a few moments before the elevator stopped and he was pushed out.

Connor looked at his new surrounding and found it looked pretty bare. There was someone waiting for him and took over for the man from the van.

As this new person was pushing the gurney away from the elevator he thought he would continue with his relentless questions, "So, where am I and where are you taking me?"

The gurney suddenly stopped and Connor thought he had finally gotten someone's attention, but he soon realized they had stopped so the man could open a door.

As the door opened and Connor was pushed inside, he heard someone talking to him.

"Welcome Connor Temple, my name is Eva".

Connor looked for the source of the voice and found that it was a woman who looked like she was in her 40's. "Where am I?"

Eva walked over and pushed the one end of the gurney up so that Connor was now sitting up, "there, that probably feels better".

Connor was grateful to be sitting upright finally, but he still wanted answers, "Why have I been brought here?"

"I was told you needed some rehabilitation after your injuries and they thought you would get better treatment here".

"Like I told the people before, I am feeling better. Just give me some crutches and I can get back to my friends".

"It's not that easy Mr. Temple. They are worried more clots will form and they just wanted to take some precautions against it. We have special equipment here that can monitor the formation of any new clots and alert us if we need to increase your dose of medicine".

This made a little sense to Connor, but it didn't make him happy, "Why did it take someone here to tell me this. Why didn't someone just explain this to me back at the ARC? Do you know when my friends will arrive?"

Eva had gone over and was preparing something, but responded to his questions, "I was only told to take care of you; I don't know anything about your friends". She turned around and approached Connor.

Connor could see she had a syringe in her hand and didn't like the idea of getting poked again, "Hey, what are you going to do with that?"

"This is just the medicine that is keeping any new clots from forming. It will only hurt for a second".

Connor tried to move away, but was soon feeling the needle as it pierced his arm. He looked at Eva only briefly before his eyelids grew heavy. The last thing he remembered was the smile on her face.

-

Connor woke up feeling groggy, but his senses kicked in when he realized he was no longer restrained. He sat up and found that he was in a very nicely decorated room. He moved to the edge of the bed but refrained from standing up when he suddenly felt dizzy. Once the feeling was gone he stood up on his one good leg and moved to the door. He was surprised when it opened.

Once he was outside of the room he found that he was in what looked like a living room with a kitchen off to the side. From all appearances the place looked like a small apartment. He seemed to be alone, but he wanted to find out, "Hello?"

A voice suddenly answered him, "What can I do for you Mr. Temple".

Connor looked around but didn't see anyone. As he approached the kitchen he found what looked like a computer monitor. On the screen was Eva.

"Is there something you need Mr. Temple?"

"Yeah, I want to know when I can leave her and be with my friends."

"As I have already told you Mr. Temple, I don't know anything about your friends, but as for when you can leave that will all depend on you. Are you hungry? The refrigerator and pantry are fully stocked, but if there is anything you don't see please let me know and I will get it for you".

Connor was so confused by all of this. He didn't understand why he couldn't see his friend and why were they holding him in this place. "I know you already told me why I am here, but I want the real reason. Why can't I see my friends?"

"Mr. Temple, please have something to eat and relax. I will try and provide you with an answer to your question".

"No, I want to know now". He hobbled over to the door but found this one locked, "Why is this door locked; am I not allowed to leave?"

"Mr. Temple, please go and sit down. I promise you I will get you an answer".

Connor was upset and absently kicked the door with his bad foot; which he soon regretted as the pain came flowing through his toes into his leg. All he could do was shout "Owwwww" and fall to floor.

Eva could see everything and had a warning for him, "Mr. Temple, it will do you no good to try that again. It will only prolong your stay here. Now, do you require assistances with your newest injury?"

Connor was rubbing his leg and foot trying to forget about the pain, "No, I just want to get out of here".

"Good night Mr. Temple, we will talk more in the morning".

Connor sat there listening, but he soon realized that he was alone again. He knew he was being monitored, but there would be no one to talk to until morning. He slowly made his way to the kitchen as he realized he was hungry. He opened the refrigerator and saw that Eva was not kidding. There was quite a bit of food in there and it made him wonder just how long they intended to keep him.

-

-

Danny had tried a few of the doors and only found empty rooms, but the last one at the end of the corridor led to a set of stairs that led down. Danny quietly motioned to the others that they were going to head down since there was nothing else they could find.

As they went down there were a few doors leading to other floors, but each was locked. It was Abby who stopped at the second door down and started working on the lock. She could see through the window of the door and it looked like it led to other rooms.

For once, Abby was glad that Connor had taught her how to pick a lock because it wasn't long before they were exploring the area.

Danny went up to the first door and put his ear to it; trying to listen. When he heard nothing he tried the door and found it unlocked.

He carefully opened the door and as soon as he was inside he found several glass cages; but luckily they were empty. He looked in Belle's direction, "You said they use this place to house some of the creatures they bring back?"

Belle looked around before replying, "That is what I heard. I guess I was right".

Danny looked around the room and saw that there were some computer screens, "Do you think we can find anything on those?"

Belle looked at the screens and sat down at one of the monitors, "Well there is only one way to find out". She started typing a few things into the computer and the screen came to life. As she typed a few more things on the keyboard she suddenly stopped, "Well these work, but I don't think we should stay here for too long. I got into the network and found a current notice of information being streamed through the network. According to what it says they know where we are and are on their way here right now".

Danny didn't like the idea of company, "Does it say anyone is looking for us in the building?"

Belle typed a few more things and said, "It doesn't look like they have too many people on site, but yes they have been alerted to look for us. They don't seem to know we are inside yet; if that is anything to get excited about".

"It is, but can you look on that thing and find out where they have Connor?"

After a few more seconds of searching Belle was excited to say, "Yes, it says he is being held on the floor below us, but he is being monitored".

"By who, does it say?"

"It doesn't say, but there is a control room on that floor".

"Great, that's where we go then?"

Abby wanted to know why they were not going straight to where Connor was, "Why are we wasting our time going there, shouldn't we go and get Connor?"

"We are going to get Connor, but we need to take out the people watching them first. And if we're lucky, they can assist us in our escape".

Abby wanted to protest to this idea but Danny was already out of the room.

-

-

Eva had just been informed of the potential for more company and was not happy about it. It was bad enough that she was being forced to babysit someone, but with the idea of more people it was just about all she could take. She had been stuck out if this warehouse for the last few months while studying their latest find, so when it was suddenly moved she thought she was finally going to get to go home, but that was not to be the case.

She had been told that Mr. Temple was too be made a priority and that she was too make sure he was comfortable. When she asked why he was being brought here, they refused to tell her; but they eluded that it was very important to their mission.

She only had a few staff on hand and made sure they were aware to be on the lookout, but she doubted they would be able to get inside. The building was fortified against intruders and their security system was one of the best. As she talked to her head of security she was assured that everything was alright, but they were having a problem with one of the outside camera and one of his men had been deployed to investigate it. She decided to remain cautious and be ready for anything.

-

-

Danny, Abby and Belle had just made it to the floor that was holding Connor. Abby looked around this floor in amazement, "Wow, if I didn't know any different, I would almost say that this is where people live".

Danny had to agree with Abby's assessment. The place looked like a college dorm with all the comforts of home in every corner. "This looks like it may be a common area, I wonder if there are separate rooms somewhere close".

Abby was already ahead of Danny. She had found a hallway off to one side, "Hey Danny, there is a hallway down here and several doors".

Danny and Belle joined Abby and the three started walking by each of the doors, stopping and listening at each one. Danny was frustrated after they came to the last door, "It doesn't sound like there is anyone inside any of the rooms. We may have to enter each one to see if they lead to more rooms".

"This is getting us nowhere Danny. I think I saw a computer in the other room, maybe Belle can access it and pinpoint Connor's exact location".

Belle would have happily tried Abby's suggestion, but she found something on the wall that was way more interesting, "Hey guys, this appears to be a map of this floor. It says there are more private rooms on the other side of the common room".

Danny and Abby went to the map and studied it carefully. It appeared that they missed a door; which lead to another hallway. The rooms on this end of the floor were different looking however. There were about six rooms that were laid out to form a circle. In the middle of the circle there appeared to be a main room that connected to each of the smaller rooms. Danny wasn't sure what this specific layout meant, but he knew that Connor must be in one of the rooms.

"We need to make our way to the center room", Danny pointed on the map to show them which room he was referring to, "I think if we go this way we can make it there and find out which room Connor is in".

The three of them made their way back to the common room and found the door leading to the other rooms. They made their way through a hallway and found that it ended at a door. Danny listened to the inside and thought he heard sounds, "I think there is someone in there. Now we need to do this quickly if we are going to take them by surprise. I'm going to work on getting the door opened and once I do I want the both of you to rush inside and head for the sides of the wall. I will then come in while you distract them and take them down".

"How do we know there is only one person in the room?"

"I don't know Abby, but we have to get inside. We'll just have to deal with them once were inside". Danny knew this whole plan was total crap, but he didn't have anything better to offer. The whole rescue of their friend was happening so quickly he hoped that they were not the only ones who didn't know what they were doing.

-

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	11. Chapter 11

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Sarah had been waiting for Becker to return to her and was getting worried. He had been gone for over 2 hours to look for food and should have returned by now. She could go out and look for him, but she knew that he would not stand for it, especially since she still had a nasty gash in her leg and was unable to get around very easy.

She kept the vigil up until she could stand it no longer. She was preparing to go and search for him when she heard a noise outside the door. She grabbed one of the guns that Becker had left for her and was prepared to use it, but luckily before she had a chance to try Becker spoke to her prior to entering the room. "It's just me Sarah".

Sarah put the gun down and hobbled over to the door; giving Becker a great big hug and kiss. It was the kiss that made her realize she may have gone too far, but when he responded she knew he felt the same way.

"Where have you been; I was ready to go out and look for you".

"I'm sorry Sarah; it was pretty rough out there. I'm afraid they know there we are in here and there not going to leave any time soon knowing food is inside".

Sarah hobbled back over to her corner and slumped to the floor, "Well, I guess that's it then. We die here then".

Becker wasn't about to give up so easily, "No, we don't have to die here, but I think we need to find a new place to hide. I was trying to study the building some more and there is an air shaft that leads to the roof. I think that if we can make it up there, we may have an opportunity to get to the next building".

"But how would that help, they can climb the walls and get us".

Only if they know we are there. From the looks of the place they are on the ground waiting for us, so I don't think they will be expecting this".

"I don't know if my leg will allow me to jump to another roof?"

"The other roof is rather close so I think you can make it".

Sarah had learned a long time ago to trust Becker, so why should she stop now. She helped him gather up what little supplies they had left and made their way out of the room. They walked along the hall until they reached a room at the end.

"We can get to the air shaft through this room".

Sarah followed him into the room and allowed him to help her onto a table which led to a small opening in the wall. Luckily it only looked big enough for people to get through, but just barely.

-

-

Eva was just studying some pages on her computer when the door to the room suddenly burst open. She went to grab her weapon, but found her hand being pushed down instead. She looked at the intruders and found that it was a man and two woman; one of which she knew.

Danny had managed to push her arm down before she could reach for the weapon. He picked the gun up and handed it to Abby. He looked at the woman whose arm he was now holding, "We won't harm you if you do as you're told".

Eva was a scientist and not a fighter so she did as she was told.

"We're here for our friend Connor, where is he".

Eva was a little nervous about answering. She knew if they took Mr. Temple the repercussions from Trina would be harsh, but then again she could be shot by these people if she didn't comply. She really wasn't good at confrontations but knew she needed to make up her mind.

Danny could tell she was thinking but thought she was taking too long so he was just about to ask again when Abby walked up to her and got in her face.

"Look, you know where he is so just tell us already". Abby was frustrated and couldn't wait for Danny. She pushed the chair around and grabbed the woman by the shoulders pulling her up. "Now just show us where he is". She gave her a slight shove toward the other door in the room.

Eva didn't like this treatment and figured it was better to just let them take Mr. Temple so they would leave her alone. "Alright, I'll show you".

Eva led them through the other door into another circular area. There were several doors inside this other room, but she chose the one directly to her left. She entered the code that unlock the door but didn't get a chance to open the door.

Abby was just itching for her to complete the code so when she heard the door unlock she pushed it open and rushed inside. "Connor, are you in here?"

Connor had been sitting on the bed in the other room when he could have sworn he heard Abby's voice. He looked toward the door and said to himself, "Abby?" He got up from the bed and grabbed the crutches that he had found in the closet and hobbled into the living area; only to be almost thrown to the ground as Abby rushed in to hug him.

"Oh Connor, we finally have you back". She clung to him until she heard Danny say something and let go feeling a little embarrassed by her actions.

Danny was extremely happy to see Connor as well, but he knew they were not safe until the left this place. "Good to have you back Connor, but we need to get out of here. Are you up to it?"

Connor steadied himself on his crutches as he turned to look at Danny, "I am so up for that".

Danny looked in Eva's directions, "You're going to help us get out of here. Which way do we go?"

Eva was hoping they would just leave here there but having to lead them out was something she didn't really want to do. She pointed in the direction and hoped it was enough.

Danny could see she wasn't going to move so he grabbed her arm and roughly pushed her toward the direction she pointed toward, "Your coming with us; at least until we are outside.

-

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	12. Chapter 12

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Danny held on to Eva as she led the four of them out of the room. He knew Abby was helping ensure Connor kept up with the group so he could focus on getting them out. As Eva led them to another door she stopped.

"What are you waiting for? Where does this door lead to?" Danny was starting to get anxious to leave and wasn't afraid to let it show.

Eva thought the sooner she helped them the sooner they would be gone so she was going to show them the fastest route out of the place; it also turned out that this would be the safest route. She didn't know why they felt like they had to rescue their friend, but she didn't know who might be looking for them and wanted to stay out of the crossfire. "There is a set of stairs on the other side of the door".

"Where does it go; I hope back up the way we came".

"No, it actually goes down".

Danny was confused "we need to be going up; why are you leading us down. This better not be a trick".

With a bit of fear in her voice she responded to Danny's confusion, "No, I'm not setting you up. We need to go down in order to get to the tunnels".

Danny wanted to know what she was talking about and interrupted her, "What tunnels are you talking about".

Eva didn't let his rude interruption bother her as she said, "The tunnels go out about a mile and lead to a secluded opening. We always thought we needed an escape route in case it was ever overrun by some of the creatures we house here".

This made sense Danny so he motioned for Eva to continue.

-

The four of them made it to the stairs, but before they descended Danny felt he needed to check on Connor, "It looks like we are going to have to go down a couple of flights of stairs, you up to it?"

"No worries about me Danny, not when I have Abby here looking out for me".

Danny smiled as he looked from Connor to Abby, "Ok, but we need to move quickly, so if you need a break you're going to need to tell me".

Connor was about to say something but Abby took care of the response, "Don't worry about us. We'll be right behind you; even if I have to carry Connor".

Connor shot Abby a concerned looked "Hey, I don't need anyone to carry me". He assumed she was kidding; at least he hoped she was.

Abby pushed him toward the stairs, "Come on Connor, we'll worry about that later".

Connor did as he was told and hobbled toward the stairs with Abby in tow.

-

The tunnels ended up being 3 flights down and by the time everyone reached the bottom Connor was ready for a break. He had made it the whole way down, but had slipped a few times making his leg ache. He wished he had thought to bring some of the pain pills he had back in his bathroom, but in all the rush he had forgotten. He wanted to say something to Danny about needing a break, but he could sense how imperative it was too get out of this place so he remained silent.

Danny looked at space that was before him and saw that there were actually two tunnels, "Which one do we take?"

Eva had a worried look on her face. She had only been down here once and that was quite a while ago, so she didn't really know which tunnel led to the outside. "Let me think a moment, I'm not quite sure which way to go".

Danny was starting to get angry, "What do you mean; you don't know which way to go. If one of the tunnels leads out, then where does the other tunnel go?"

"It leads to some store rooms, but that's all. There is no way out when you reach the end".

"Well, is there anything down here that would help us know which one is correct?"

Eva shook her head, "No, there is nothing in the immediate area. I do know there are computers in one of the store rooms, but if we head in that direction then we would knowingly be going in the wrong direction. Just let me think about this and I am sure I can remember which way to go". She walked over to one of the tunnels and leaned up against the wall to think.

Danny was not very happy, "Great, this is all we need. We're sitting ducks for anyone who may be coming after us".

Belle had just been standing there listening, but now that the conversation was over she decided to offer a solution, "Hey, why don't you let me go over and talk to her. One of the things I learned at school was how to listen to people and help them discover things they were missing. It's a form of hypnosis and only takes a few minutes to get their mind thinking correctly. It may be just enough for her to remember which path to take".

"If you think it will work, then yes please give a try".

Belle walked away from Danny and toward Eva. She had done this trick on numerous occasions with successful results, so she was sure it would work in this situation.

Danny joined Abby and Connor by the stairs, "Hey Connor, you doing alright?" He had noticed he was sitting down and had hoped this was not too much for him. He remembered their escape out of the past and how it ended and just hoped it didn't end that way again.

Connor looked up from the stairs and did his best to hide the pain behind his eyes, "Yeah Danny, I'm doing just fine. So do we know which way to go yet?"

Danny looked back at Eva before responding to Connor, "I don't know. I'm just hoping that whatever Belle thinks she can do actually works".

"Hey Danny, are you sure we can trust Belle. I thought there was a moment of recognition between the two women up stairs; they could be plotting to turn us in".

"No I don't think Belle would do that Abby. I don't why, but there is something trustworthy in Belle".

"Like I said before Danny, I trust your instincts so I hope you don't let me down on this one".

Danny thought the same thing, but chose not to say anything out loud.

-

-

Becker and Sarah had finally made it through the maze of air ducts and found the one door leading to the roof. From there they made their way over to the edge. Luckily there were no creatures roaming the rooftops, but a quick inspection of the ground below revealed a rather large number of predators. There were several of them fighting amongst each other, but for the most part they were sitting quietly; as if saving their energy for something more exciting.

They didn't have any trouble making it to the next roof; just as Becker had indicated. The door located in the middle of the roof was locked, but Becker had no trouble getting it open.

As the two entered the building they found it to be very dark and musty smelling, but their flashlight on low beam revealed their surroundings to be empty. After looking around a bit they settled on a small room that had no windows, but was connected to a larger one that did. Becker felt it would be safer in the smaller room because there was less areas that would need reinforcement.

The two settled in for some rest, but had only a little bit of food to share so they decided to save it for morning.

Sarah was sitting in the corner of the room trying to stay warm, "I wish we had a blanket in here. It's cold out tonight".

Becker had been pacing around the small room, but stopped when Sarah mentioned she was cold. "Yeah, I just hope it doesn't get any colder". He looked at Sarah and saw that she was shivering. He went over and sat down next to her, "Here, lean into me; a combination of our body heat should be enough to get us through the night".

Sarah did as she was asked and leaned into Becker; allowing him to put his arm around her arm and pull her closer to his body. She liked how his body felt and snuggled in even closer. When he didn't seem to object she put her head on his chest using him as a pillow. It wasn't long before she started to feel tired, "This is much better, I think I'll be able to get some sleep tonight".

"That sounds like a good idea, I'll keep watch".

Sarah closed her eyes and did her best to imagine she was somewhere else. She hoped tomorrow would be a better day; but she would settle for just making it to the morning.

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	13. Chapter 13

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Belle walked over to Danny with a happy look on her face, "She said that we should go into the left tunnel. This is the one that will lead you to the outside world. But she has asked one thing. She said we don't need her help in getting out so she would like to stay behind if possible".

Danny didn't like this idea at all. He felt it would be better to let her go when they reached the end in case they run into any obstacles, "No, we need her to come with us. Do you think she told you the right tunnel to take?"

"I'm pretty sure it's the one to take. I took her back to the one time she was down here and she started to remember little differences in the two tunnels and she said that as soon as we enter the left one we should start to feel colder since that part of the tunnel is not heated".

"Good job Belle, I really appreciate your help. I was thinking though, maybe we need to part company with you once we get out of the tunnel. I don't want you to get into too much trouble and I think they would believe you if you told them we had kidnapped you".

"Don't worry about me Danny. This is the right thing to do and I am not sure I even want to go back and work for that woman after this. I want to make sure you get out of here and back to your own time".

Danny couldn't help but smile at her admission. He knew they still needed her help once they were out of here and he was glad she was willing to give it.

Danny went over to where Abby and Connor were sitting, "Well, it looks like we know which way to go so I hope you're ready".

Abby stood up and helped Connor stand up, "We are ready and willing Danny".

Connor nodded his head, but he didn't say anything.

Eva wasn't happy about having to go along, but she figured it was just another 20 minutes walk through the tunnel so she just had to endure it a little longer.

The five of them entered the left tunnel and it wasn't long before all of them felt the cold air. Danny looked over at Belle to acknowledge the fact that they must be in the correct one.

As they walked along a loud sound suddenly rang out from the ceiling. Everyone looked toward the noise as Danny said, "Eva, what is that?"

Eva knew exactly what it was and it was music to her ears. "It's the alarm. It means that they are aware of a security breach and will probably be down here soon".

Danny was afraid they would never make it out of this place before reinforcements showed up. "How long do we have until we reach the end of the tunnel?"

"It's about 15 more minutes if we keep walking at this pace".

"Are they able to lock the exit?"

"No, we made sure there was nothing preventing us from getting out in case the place was overrun. We didn't want to be stuck in the tunnel so there is no lock on the hatch from the inside. There is however one on the outside to prevent anyone from getting in; that is if they even find the opening".

Danny was glad to hear this. He turned to his group, "We need to step up the pace. Connor, do you think you can run?"

It wasn't something Connor wanted to hear, but he would do what it took to get out, "I think so".

"Great, but if you start to fall behind I'm going to throw you over my shoulder and carry you, OK?"

Once again the idea of having someone carry him didn't sit well with Connor, but what could he do about it. All he did was nod at Danny's statement.

The five of them took off toward the exit. Danny, Eva and Belle were naturally in the lead, but Abby and Connor were not far behind. Abby was doing her best to make sure Connor kept up and was glad that he could.

As they ran Danny yelled over to Eva; "Do you know if we're getting close to the end?"

"I think so, but it was such a long time ago that I was in this tunnel that I can't be sure".

Danny looked back and saw that Abby and Connor were starting to fall behind. He just hoped Connor could make it, but he had to remember that once they were outside they were still going to have to run and he wasn't sure Connor had it in him.

Before long they finally reached the end of the tunnel. Danny took the lead and climbed up the ladder. Once he was at the top he found there was a small hatch that he had no trouble opening. "I have it open. I am going to go and make sure it is all clear first. Abby, I want you to send Connor up first once I give the signal".

Danny exited the hatch and found that it was very dark outside but he could tell they were in the middle of a field. The hatch seemed to be very well hidden from his first impression. As he looked around he didn't detect the presence of anyone waiting to attack so he figured it was safe, "Ok Abby, send Connor up".

Connor had been leaning up against the wall when he heard Danny yell down to them. The steps didn't seem to go up very far, but it was just enough that he knew it would take him a while. He just wished that Danny had asked for the others to go first. He would feel responsible if they were unable to get out because he was too slow.

Abby thought that as soon as Danny said it was clear that Connor would have been anxious to get out of her, so she didn't understand his hesitation, "Come on Connor, we have to get you up the ladder".

Connor didn't argue with Abby since he knew she would win. With her assistance he made it over to the wall and started climbing. He was very slow moving and his leg was starting to hurt worse than before. He looked up toward Danny and saw that he had his arms hanging down to assist him when he got closer. This gave him the energy to continue his climb and he was soon wrapping his one hand around Danny's; allowing the older man to pull him up. He was glad it was over and once he was out he fell to the ground and waited for the others.

It didn't take the other ladies long to get to the top. As soon as Eva was at the top Danny had only one more question for her, "we can let you go now, but I need to know where we are and which direction we should take to get back to the ARC".

Eva was glad they were going to let her go, but she was confused as to why they wanted to get back to the ARC. Hadn't they just come from there? "You need to go north and keep going until you hit the main road. Once there you should go east and it will take you back into town. From there I think you can find the building quite easily since it kind of sticks out. Can I ask you why you want to go back there?"

"We just want to get home and the ARC is the only way to get there".

Eva was still confused, but she didn't care. They were leaving and that was all that mattered. "I wish you luck on getting home".

Danny took only a second to come up with a plan. He had ordered Eva back into the tunnel and when she had climbed down he closed the hatch. He looked around and found some large pieces of wood; which he jammed into the hatch hoping that it would buy them some time in case they were followed. He knew it would not hold, but if it gave them a few more minutes it was worth it.

"Now are you sure you want to come with us Belle". Danny wanted to give her one more chance to walk away.

"I've already made my decision Danny. I am coming with you".

Danny was glad she had not changed her mind. "Alright, now we need to get moving. Eva said we head north, so I believe it is that way".

The four of them started heading in the direction that Danny had indicated. Connor was once again lagging behind, but it was Danny who was helping him this time. He had asked Abby to take a break and besides, it would be easier to pick him up if they needed to run.

-

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There was a horrible sound coming from outside making it impossible to sleep. Sarah had been the first to hear it, but Becker was soon awake and on his feet. He grabbed his gun and headed toward the door, "Sarah, you stay here, I am going to go and find out what that noise is".

Sarah didn't want to be left alone, "I don't think it's such a good idea. What if they are waiting for you on the other side of the door?"

"I think we would have heard something on the other side. This noise sounded like it came from outside so I think we're ok for now".

Sarah stood up, "Well, then I am coming with you".

Becker waited for Sarah and with her behind him he opened the door. He looked around and based on the amount of light coming from the window he could tell they had made it through another night. He crept quietly over to the window and looked out. What he saw sickened him. The predators had been fighting amongst each other and several of them lay dead on the ground. The sickening part was that the ones still alive were feeding off the dead ones.

Sarah had looked out the window and pulled back quickly. "Do you think they were fighting over us?"

"They may have been. I don't think it will be long before they find us".

Sarah was scared and starting to lose hope that they would never get out of here. She was tired and started walking back to their little room in the back.

Becker noticed the look on her face and wished he could do something to change it. He followed her back into the room and shut the door, "I can try to find a way out of here later when the beasts have had their fill of food. Maybe they will eventually forget about us and we can have a chance to get out of here".

Sarah gave a loud sigh as she slipped down the wall. As she put her knees up to her face she started crying. She was never one to cry, but this situation was becoming more than she could handle.

Becker never liked to hear anyone cry, but he was also not the touchy feely kind of guy that would run to a woman's side and take her in his arms saying everything was going to be alright. But he was starting to lose hope as well and he didn't care how he may have acted before. He went over to Sarah and sat next to her, putting his arm around her shoulders.

Sarah felt safe in his arms and leaned into them. She didn't think she would make it out of here, but at least she wasn't alone. She looked up into his eyes and saw a look that said he felt the same way.

As Becker cradled Sarah in his arms he gave her a light squeeze, "Hey, we'll get out of here, I promise".

They were only words to her, but she knew he was trying to make her feel better. "Let's not talk about it right now ok". She was still looking at Becker when he suddenly leaned down and kissed her. She was taken by surprise at first, but quickly got over it and kissed him back.

Becker hadn't planned on kissing her, but she looked so lovely that he couldn't help himself. He continued kissing her and soon they were both lying on the floor intertwined in each other's arms. They enjoyed each other as if this was their last day on earth.

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	14. Chapter 14

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For the past hour there didn't seem to be anyone following them; or at least they didn't see anyone. Danny had insisted on a steady pace so they could get a safe distance between them and the warehouse. He knew their escape could not be this easy and wondered how soon it would be before they caught up to them. He just hoped that when they captured them they could all stay together this time. He also wanted to know why they wanted them in the first place. It wasn't like they were the enemy.

"I think I see the road that Eva was telling us about".

Danny looked in the direction that Belle was pointing towards. He could see that it was a road and he just hoped she was right. "Ok, I suggest that we travel down the side of the road, but in such a way as to not be seen. The trees on the other side of the road will act as a perfect cover".

Connor was happy to hear that they had found the road that would eventually lead them to town, but he was getting tired and his leg was extremely sore, "Say Danny, do you suppose we could stop and take a break before moving on?"

Danny had noticed that it was getting harder for Connor to walk, but he had been hoping the young man could have made it a bit farther before having to stop. It was still dark out, but daybreak was coming and he figured that once the sun came up it would only be a matter of time before they were found. "I think we should walk a bit farther before we take a break. Do you think you can manage that Connor?"

"I can manage". Connor was disappointed, but he didn't want to keep anyone back on a count of him. He continued to hobble along, hoping that once they were in the thick of the trees he could rest.

The walking had given Abby a lot of time to think about their situation and wondered what Danny had in mind. They had managed to get Connor back, but that still didn't help them with getting back to their own time. "Danny I was thinking, once we are back in town what are we going to do next? We can't just march into the ARC and demand that they let us go back to our own time".

Danny had also used this time to think about their next move, "I was wondering when someone was going to ask that question. I have been running a few scenarios through my head and so far I keep coming back to only one that I think will work. We need to get back to the same place that brought us back into this world, but the only trouble is that we don't have the devise to open up the anomaly".

"Yeah, they took that away from us during all the commotion with Connor".

"We need to get that devise back somehow so that we can use it to open the portal".

Connor had somehow managed to keep up with their conversation and had to add his own thoughts into Danny's plan, "Do you really think that if we go back through the same anomaly that brought us here it will take us back to the same past we once knew".

Danny stopped walking as Connors words penetrated his mind, "what are you saying Connor".

"I don't think it is going to be that easy. The time here is the same as it was when we first stepped through, but because we don't know what caused it to change, we may be going back to another changed world".

Danny was starting to understand what Connor was saying, but he was still having trouble with piecing it all together, "so what you're saying is that we may not go back to the world we once remember because events that caused this time to change may have been before we left?"

"Exactly"! Connor got so excited when Danny understood what he was trying to say that he let go of one of the crutches and it sent him falling to ground.

Abby was instantly at his side, "Connor, you shouldn't get yourself so excited. You need to save that for when we get home".

Connor sat up and rubbed his leg, "Sorry".

Abby and Danny both helped Connor up and continued their trek. There were no more discussions on the logistics of getting home. It was quite clear that there was more to think about.

-

-

As they walked, Danny thought about what Connor had said. He was starting to think all of this was a waste of time and that they would find the world they once knew to be changed. It must have had something to do with Helen and the things she had done before she died. Maybe they should just accept the fact that they are at least in a time that is closer to what they were use to and stop trying to go back. But something told him to keep trying. If anything, when they went back they would be back in their own time and regardless if things were different they would just have to make the most of it.

Once they had reached the interior portion of the trees Danny felt it was safe to rest for a moment. "Alright, I think we should rest for a few minutes, but then we need to keep going". He stayed where he was while the other three moved in a little closer to the trees.

Once Connor was resting comfortably against one of the trees, Abby walked over to Danny, "Are you worried about what Connor said earlier?"

"I am Abby. What if all this is for nothing and we get back to our own time to find everything different?"

"We had no choice Danny. If we had stayed in the past we would have been some raptors breakfast by now".

Danny knew she spoke the truth, but it still didn't make anything feel better.

Abby could see that he somehow blamed himself for this whole mess, "It's no one's fault Danny. We all knew what we were doing and we are all willing to accept the consequences".

"It's not just that Abby, what if everything we know has changed. The people we once knew didn't ask for any of this".

"They wouldn't know any different so I don't think it really matters what they think".

"I know you're right Abby, but it still doesn't make this any easier. I just want to get back to our time and have it be the way it was before".

"I never knew you were so sentimental Danny?"

Danny chuckled lightly. He appreciated her attempt at lightening the situation with humor, but it was still not enough to change his mood. "So how is Connor doing?"

"He'll live, but I really would like him to rest his leg soon".

Belle had been listening and joined the conversation at hearing Abby, "I think I may be able to help you with that. I know of a place that is close to the ARC where we can probably hide out for a short time; ya know, give Connor some time to rest and maybe get the rest of us a bite to eat as well".

Danny gave her a thoughtful look before responding, "How do you know we'll be safe?"

"The owner is a friend of mine and he just happens to be out of town this week. No one knows that I am friends with this person so they would have a hard time putting it all together, but that's not to say that they won't eventually figure it out".

"Well it sounds like the only plan we have at the moment. We certainly can't stay out here much longer". Danny looked over in Connor's direction and thought he looked a little more rested, "Connor, are you ready for some more walking?"

Connor looked up at hearing his name. He heard what Danny was saying and nodded his head in response. He really didn't feel like walking anymore today, but there was really nothing he could do about it. He waited for Abby to come over and help him up and once again the little band of four was on their way toward town.

-

-

The band of four cautiously approached the buildings for fear of what might be around the corner. Belle told them that her friends place was just a little further and they would be there in about 10 minutes. This was good news for all, but Danny was still a little hesitant about staying in town so close to the ARC. He really just wanted to break into the place and find their equipment to open the portal, but he knew they were in no shape for this.

They kept close to the building as they approached Belle's friends place. This was the first time that Danny had really gotten a good look around. Everything was so different from what he remembered. He had to admit that this interpretation of the future was a much better one then the one they had seen the first time. He had only been thinking about it for a few minutes when something caused him to stop dead in his tracks. Since he was at the rear of the group the others didn't' notice he had stopped. This gave Danny time to sort out what he thought he was looking at. If he was not mistaken the place a few hundred yards in front of them was the very place where they had come into this world. He was sure of it, but since everything looked new and fresh it was hard to 100% sure.

As he was staring ahead he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked down to find Abby tugging at his sleeve.

"Come on Danny, we can't afford to just be standing here. We need to keep moving. Belle said we are almost there".

Danny took his eyes away from Abby and looked out toward the street once again, "Tell me what you see out there Abby?"

Abby didn't know why he was wasting their time by asking such a pointless question, "I see a street Danny; one that will be filled with people on their way to work soon if we don't get moving".

Danny ignored the urgency in Abby's voice, "I want you to really look out there and tell me if it looks familiar".

"I see a street Danny, come on we need to get moving". She looked nervously around and then back to Danny.

"Abby, concentrate on the space out there, what would it look like if someone had just dropped a bomb and destroyed everything out there. Would it look familiar to you?"

Abby knew she would not get him moving if she didn't try. She looked in the direction Danny had pointed to and pictured how it would look. Something suddenly registered in her memory and she grabbed Danny's arm before replying, "Danny is that the same spot where we entered this world?"

"I think it is Abby". He finally moved his eyes back to Abby, "now let's get moving".

Danny seemed to move with a renewed sense of purpose. Even though he had held up the group, he was now pushing them to move along at a faster pace.

It wasn't long before Belle announced that they had arrived. They were standing outside a very nice looking four story flat.

Belle had them wait while she retrieved the key. She disappeared off to the side of the building and was back within a minute. After using the key and punching a few buttons into the security pad on the door they were all inside.

Danny gave the place a quick once over before declaring it safe. "Well this looks like a nice place for a rest". He looked over to Connor and could see that the young man was about to fall over, "Hey Connor, let's get you over to the couch".

Danny and Abby both helped Connor to the couch. Danny left Abby to tend to Connor, who was being unusually quiet.

Abby helped Connor get his feet up on the couch. She started to remove his shoe when he finally said something.

"You should probably leave that on. I'm afraid if you take it off you won't be able to get it back on".

After a quick inspection on his ankle, Abby realized he was right. "Oh Connor, your ankle doesn't look good at all. I should get some ice for you".

Connor lay back on the couch without saying anything about the ice. He started watching Abby walk toward the kitchen, but closed his eyes as a tired wave suddenly spread throughout his body. He would have fallen asleep if it hadn't been for the cold sensation he felt on his leg. He opened his eyes and gave Abby a weak tired smile.

Abby could tell he was tired. She was tired as well and would have loved to have curled up on the couch with him, but she had to make sure he got his rest, "I know this is cold, but this should help with the swelling. I also brought some pain pills and water for you".

Connor took the offered water and pills and allowed Abby to fuss over him. He wanted to stay awake so that he could help them figure out their next move, but he was so tired that he was asleep before his head hit the pillow behind his head.

Abby stayed with Connor until he was asleep and then she joined Danny and Belle in the kitchen. She found them making some food and offered to help but was told to sit down while they finished.

Danny brought over some cheese and bread while Belle brought a picture of lemonade.

As the three of them ate they talked about their next move.

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Chapter 15 coming soon


	15. Chapter 15

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Danny, Abby and Belle spent the next two hours talking before they decided to get some rest. All of them were beyond tired and knew that if they didn't get some rest soon, the plan they managed to come up with would be for nothing.

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Connor opened his eyes to the sounds of someone snoring. He sat up and looked around; his gaze stopping when he saw Danny sleeping in the chair next to the couch. He remembered where he was but didn't have a clue as to how long he had been sleeping. He just hoped he hadn't missed anything important.

As he swung his legs to the floor he cried out softly at the pain it caused. His leg had stiffened up while he had rested and it actually felt worse than it did before. A quick glance at Danny showed that the noise has not woken him and for this he was grateful. He knew Danny needed to rest just as much as he did.

He grabbed his crutch and used it to help stand up. He had to take a few moments to get his bearing before moving toward the kitchen. He was famished and hoped there was something good to eat.

As he slowly made his way toward the refrigerator he was amazed by some of the appliances he saw. He knew they were not that far into the future from his own time, but they sure had made some new gadgets. He wished he had time to check them out and see how they worked, but he knew their time here would be short, or at least he hoped it would be.

He found some crisps to go along with the sandwich he managed to put together and sat at the table. As he ate he absently read the back of the bag of crisps to see who made them. He didn't recognize the name but wondered if he could find them back in his own time. When he was finished he put the bag down next to some paper. He picked them up and saw that while he was asleep the other 3 had come up with some plans on getting the anomaly device out of the ARC.

The idea sounded good on paper, but he wished it didn't have to be this way. While he had been kept away from his friends, he had figured out why they were not allowed to go home and he understood why Trina and her group felt this way. If faced with the same situation he was not sure he wouldn't do the same. He wasn't even sure it was right to try and get home anymore, but he was not about to tell the others the way he felt.

He was finishing up with his sandwich when he Abby came into the room. Before he could say anything she was already asking him how he was feeling.

"Hey Connor, are you feeling rested?"

Connor could tell she was still tired by the way she carried herself over to the empty chair next to him. "I'm feeling better I think. But how are you; did you get enough sleep?"

Abby gave him half a smile as she responded, "It's enough, besides; I can sleep as long as I want once we are back at home". She looked down at his empty glass and plate, "So I see you had something to eat. Is there any lemonade left?"

"Yeah, I put it back in the refrigerator". He was about to get up to pour her a glass when she suddenly stood up and put her hand on his shoulder.

"You just stay put Connor, I can get it myself. So did you get a chance to look at our plan for getting home?"

Connor was watching her after she got up, but turned away and looked down at the table as she asked her question. "Yeah…. it sounds like a good plan".

By the tone of Connor's voice, Abby could sense he wasn't telling her everything, but decided to let it go since she herself wasn't sure it would work.

Connor and Abby spent the next 20 minutes talking about the things they had seen and encountered in this new world and what could have caused such a change. Neither could come with any ideas that could explain it, but neither was really trying to find the correct answers. But it did take their mind off their current situation; which was breaking back into the ARC.

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It was the voices from the kitchen that woke Danny from his sleep. He stretched his arms in the chair and gave out a big yawn before standing up. He headed toward the kitchen and smiled as he found Connor and Abby deep in conversation. "Well, I trust the both of you have gotten enough sleep. It's going to be a busy couple of days if our plans go as expected".

Abby looked over at Danny and gave him a smile. She wanted to say good morning to him, but she suddenly realized that she didn't even know if it was morning, it only felt like it. She quickly looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was early afternoon. "So, when are we going to get started then?"

Danny took one of the empty chairs next to Connor as she responded, "Well I would like to discuss it with Connor before we get started".

"I've already had a chance to look at the plans and Abby filled me in on the rest".

"Great, then we wait for Belle to wake up and we can get started".

Connor thought Danny would have at least asked how he felt about their plan but since he didn't he decided to ask the one question that was nagging him, "So Danny, this plan of yours, I don't see anything for me to do except wait for you at the anomaly site".

Danny had wondered if Connor would ask about this, "Yes Connor, we thought since you were still on the mend that it would be best if you sat this one out and just waited for us to come to you".

Connor just nodded his head to indicate he understood. He knew Danny well enough now that he would not win an argument with him if he were to start one. He wanted to help the group out and feel useful, but he would have to find another way to do this.

Abby could tell that Connor didn't like the idea of having to sit this one out and wished she would have thought about this when they were formulating the plan. She may have been able to find something for him to do. If there was one thing she knew about Connor, it was that he didn't like to be kept out of anything.

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Sarah and Becker still lay in each other's arms trying to figure out what they were going to do next. They had also not spoken about what had just happened between the two of them and it was clear to both that they would not mention it if the topic ever came up. What happened between the two of them was something that was brought on by their situation and it didn't change the way they felt about each other. They were friends and wanted to keep it that way.

"Do you hear that?"

Sarah struggled to hear something but couldn't, "No, I'm sorry but I don't".

Becker sat up and pulled on his shirt before standing up, "It's the sound of silence. I think this is the first time that I have not heard the creatures moving about".

Sarah stayed where she was trying to not look at Becker's body as he talked, "What are you trying to say?"

Becker started pulling on his boots, "Do you think you'll be ok if I go and have a look?"

Sarah didn't want him to go without her, but she didn't want him looking at her naked body while she got dressed, "I'll be fine as long as you're back right away".

He smiled at her and said, "I promise".

As Becker left the room she quickly got dressed. He came back just as she was putting her shoes on. "So, what did you see?"

"Nothing, I saw nothing, which is what I wanted to see".

Sarah was confused, "What are you talking about?"

Becker could see she didn't know what he was talking about, "The creatures, I don't see them out on the street".

"What are you trying to get at? Do you think the creatures have given up and gone back to where ever they live or do you think they are planning a trap for us to make us believe that?"

Sarah's statement was one thing that Becker liked about her. It never took her long to figure out anything and she always got straight to the point. "I don't know exactly what it means, but I noticed it looked like a storm was coming. I am wondering if they went into hiding because of the weather".

"What kind of storm do you think it is?" Sarah didn't like bad weather and just hoped they didn't have to endure another hardship while stuck in this hostile world.

"I'm not sure, but the sky looks even worse than it did before; it that's even possible. I'm thinking that this may be our only opportunity to get ourselves back to the anomaly and from there we can unlock it and get back home".

Sarah liked the idea, but then she didn't like the idea of going home without her friends, or even knowing what happened to them. "So we are going to just leave and not try and find the rest?"

"I would like to know what happened to Danny and the rest just as much as you do, but right now I just want to try and stay alive and get us back home safely. We can try and come back later, but we would need more reinforcements if we did". Becker really had no intention of returning to this place but wanted Sarah to have some kind of hope. He didn't like the idea of not knowing what happened to his friends either, but there was nothing he could do about it. He had to put faith in his friends that they would get themselves home somehow.

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Trina had been talking to Lieutenant Becker for the past couple of hours and had come to realize that they were not going to be able to keep their 3 guests a secret for much longer. Becker had informed her that somehow the man in charge had gotten wind of someone coming through one of the anomalies and wanted to know who it was. She knew that once he found out he would send the 3 of them back to their own time. She thought about how she could convince him that this was a bad idea and that it would change everything in their present time, but she knew that it would mean nothing to him since he had nothing to lose. He was in charge of this place back when the whole ARC was started and nothing would change by sending them back. She had hoped he would have been out of the picture by now since he was getting old, but for some reason he was still in charge. She had hoped to change that, but now she had to make other plans.

She decided that the best thing for her was to help Danny, Abby and Connor get back to their own time, only she would be going back with them. If she couldn't get what she wanted in this time then she would try and get what she wanted in their time.

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	16. Chapter 16

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Once Belle woke from her rest she joined the other 3 in the kitchen where they proceeded to discuss their plan. It was decided that Danny and Belle would sneak into the ARC through a very under used and mostly unknown passage that had been found by Connor back in their own time. Connor had used it on more than one occasion to slip into work . He had told Danny about it and it was Danny who thought to use it. Belle did not know about the passage, but just because she didn't know didn't mean that no one else did; but that was a chance they would have to take. Then once they were inside they would make their way to Trina's office where Belle was sure the devise would be. Luckily she knew how to get into the woman's office so that was one thing they didn't have to worry about. The only problem was when to do it. They decided that Abby would watch for when Trina when she left for work, which was usually about the same time each night so they were counting on this.

As Connor listened to the 3 of them talk he had to ask about his job again. He was told that he would be waiting at the site where they first entered this world and make sure it was clear for when they arrived. He didn't like this plan, but had to admit to himself that it was probably the most useful thing he could do.

As the day wore on the 4 prepared to leave, bringing only the necessities as to not weigh them down. When everything was ready they headed to the site that Danny had shown Abby when they had first arrived at the apartment. They found Connor a safe place to hide out while still being able to keep an eye on things. He wished the 3 luck and watched as they left him alone to wait.

Belle led the way to the ARC using a less used route. Once they arrived at the building Abby stationed herself to where Trina would eventually exit the building. Danny and Belle made their way to the passage which was some ways away from where Abby was. They would communicate through some phones that Belle had found in her friend's apartment.

Abby tried to find the best place to hide so that no one would see her, but the area was devoid of trees so that left the vehicles for her to hide behind. She just hoped Trina would come out soon.

After about 30 minutes there was movement coming from one of the outer doors of the building. As she watched she saw several people coming out, but none of them were Trina. Abby was just beginning to give up hope when she finally spotted the one she was waiting for.

Trina was busy talking to one of the people who had come out before her; which gave Abby time to call Danny, "Danny, Trina just came out of the building. It looks like she is done for the day so you should start to make you way into the building".

Danny waited until Abby was finished before replying, "Ok Abby, just keep an eye on her until she leaves the parking lot, then I want you to get over to the site and wait with Connor. If this goes as planned, we will be there shortly".

"Good luck Danny". Abby was just putting the phone back into pocket when she looked up to see where Trina was. As she looked around she started to panic when she didn't see her. She stood up to get a better look and soon regretted it as she felt something poke her in the back. As she turned around she saw Trina, who was standing there with the biggest grin on her face.

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Getting inside the building was easier than Danny thought it would be. Once inside Belle took over and led him through a maze of hallways and stairwells until they reached the floor where Trina's office was. To Danny this all seemed just a little too easy and he was starting to have a bad feeling about everything. He was glad that the place seemed deserted, but he had to wonder why they didn't have more security. Maybe they were walking into a trap, but he didn't have time to think about that right at the moment.

Belle stopped suddenly and motioned Danny to get back into the corner. As they stood up as close to the wall as possible, two guards walked by. As Danny watched them he started to feel foolish for thinking it was a trap. The guards didn't seem to be worried about anything as they walked by so why was he so worried.

When the guards passed by Belle motioned Danny to follow her. Within minutes they stopped again, "This is Trina's office. Just keep an eye for me while I put in her code".

Danny kept guard as Belle punched a few numbers into the keypad. It didn't take long before Belle was pulling Danny by the arm.

Danny followed Belle into the room while Belle turned on the light. "So we're in, now all we need to do is find the device". Danny looked around the office and could see they had their work cut out for them. The room was very large and the device could be anywhere.

After spending 20 minutes looking Danny was starting to think that the device was not in Trina's office and their attempt to find it was now lost, "It doesn't seem to be here Belle, can you think of any other place it could be?"

"I thought for sure it would have been here Danny. Trina would have wanted to make sure it was safe so I just assumed she put it in here".

"Well I think we should get out of here and try and come up with another plan".

Belle could see the disappointment on Danny's face, "Maybe I could try and convince some of the others in the lab to help us out".

Danny wanted to respond, but thought that if this was something that she could guarantee she would have brought it up before. "We need to get back to Abby and Connor and come up with something else. At least we know it is easier to get inside this place than originally anticipated".

Belle silently agreed with him. She helped Danny put everything back the way it was so as to not bring attention that they ever there.

Danny checked outside the office to make sure it was clear before leaving. Belle closed the door behind them and then once again took the lead as she led Danny to the exit.

Once they were outside Danny got the phone out and called Abby. When she didn't answer he figured she must be out of range so he would try again when they got away from the building.

When Danny tried again he couldn't understand why she was not answering it. He looked over at Belle, "I don't like that she is not answering".

Belle tried to lighten the mood by offering her idea of what happened, "Maybe she is still out of range. She may have had to keep out of sight when she went to join Connor. I'm sure once we get there we will find her waiting where she was supposed to be". Belle didn't know if this made Danny feel any better, but when he didn't answer she figured he was.

As the two of them of them cautiously made their way to where Connor and hopefully Abby were, Danny thought about trying the phone again, but decided against it when he realized they were almost there. He figured that Belle was right in thinking that Abby had to keep a low profile to prevent from getting caught.

When they turned the corner Danny felt relieved to see Abby and Connor sitting on a bench that was directly off to the side of where they were to wait. But as he approached he suddenly had a bad feeling about it. It was the fact that Abby and Connor were sitting out in the open when he specifically told them to keep themselves hidden.

He didn't know if Belle felt the same way but he kept his feelings to himself, trying to convince himself that he was just being paranoid.

When they were directly behind Abby and Connor the feeling that Danny had earlier was confirmed to be accurate as he heard a familiar voice.

"Hello Danny, so nice of you to join us".

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Sarah followed Becker as he made his way down to the street. They had to take a more unconventional route since they were not sure if the creatures were hidden somewhere in the building.

Once they were outside the wind was starting to pick up and the sky looked like it could rain at any minute. Becker kept a tight grip on Sarah's hand while holding his weapon with the other. He didn't know if this were a trick or if they really had a shot at getting out of here, but he wasn't about to take the time to figure out which assumption was correct. He just wanted to get back to the anomaly and unlock it so they could get home.

As they made their way over to the site, both were happy to see that nothing was following them, but they were even happier to find that nothing was waiting around each corner or hiding in one of the many destroyed vehicles that lined the streets.

It wasn't long before they finally saw what they were hoping to see. And to the relief of both of them the anomaly looked just as it did when they left. Sarah had feared that it would eventually shut itself down leaving them with no way of getting home, but she was more than happy to be wrong. She thought that perhaps by locking the anomaly it helped stabilize it.

They stood off to the side of the anomaly as Sarah dug out the device that would unlock the door and lead them to freedom. Before she pressed the button she said a silent prayer that this would work. Her prayer was answered as the lock disappeared.

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Danny looked for Trina immediately after hearing her voice. She was standing off to the side of Abby and Connor just enough that it would have been impossible to see her from any angle. "What are you doing here Trina?" He quickly looked over to make sure Abby and Connor were ok. "Are you guys alright?"

Before Danny's second question could be answered Trina offered an answer to the first question, "I am here to help you get home of course".

Danny was instantly suspicious at Trina's response, "Why would you want to help us if all you have been doing is trying to keep us apart".

Trina came out of the shadows as she responded, "I'm sorry about the events that occurred after you first arrived. I have had time to think about it and I decided that I had no right to keep you here. But since I could not find you to tell of my decision this was the only idea I could come up with".

Danny kept Belle behind him as he made it over to his friends, "Hey, are you guys ok?"

Abby spoke first, "We're ok. I'm sorry that I got caught Danny. She forced me to come here, but she hasn't hurt either of us".

"Do you believe she is serious at wanting to help us?"

Connor turned to look at Danny, "I think she is. She gave me this".

Danny looked at Connor as he held up the anomaly device. This would explain why they had not found it in Trina's office. She must have known they were coming, but how. He turned and looked at Belle thinking she may have something to do with it, but quickly changed his mind. The only thing that mattered was that he was here with Abby and Connor and they had the device. If this were a trap, they were at least the closest to home they had ever come since they entered this altered time.

Danny was starting to reach for the device when Trina suddenly snatched it back from Connor. "Now I said I would help you, but there is something you must do for me before you can go home".

Danny knew there had to be a catch, "I knew it couldn't be this easy. What do you want?"

"I plan on going back with you".

"Why would you want to do that? There is nothing for you back in our time. Your world is here".

Once Connor had heard Trina's response he understood why she wanted it this way, "She wants to come with us because she is afraid that once we are back we will erase anything she had in this time".

Trina smiled down at Connor, "I always knew you were the smart one of the group".

Danny ignored Trina's comment, "We can't do that. Any changes we make here could affect the timelines".

"What? How could you worry about such a thing? I bet you didn't think about the changes that would take place when you went after Helen. How dare you tell me you don't want to risk changing the timeline when it has already been changed? The least you could do is to take me with you so that I can continue my life and not have to worry about the kind of future you described this place should be".

"You're not giving me a good enough answer Trina. Why should we take you when everyone else in this time would be affected? We can't take everyone back with us. All we can do is take our chances and hope that it doesn't change much. We're not even sure the altered timeline had anything to do with us".

Trina was starting to get angry with Danny, "I don't care about the others; I just want to make sure my life continues as I know it. I don't really think you have much of a choice since I am the one holding the device".

Danny thought about leaping toward her and taking it away from here, but thought against it since she was also holding a weapon that was pointed directly toward his friends. He didn't want to risk it going off.

"So, the way I see it is that you have no choice. Now I am going to open the anomaly and we are all going to go through it; well all of us except for Belle".

Danny suddenly remembered that Belle was standing there and looked over at her. The idea of her coming with them had never even entered his mind. He had actually not put much thought into it.

Trina took a few steps away from the group and pointed the device toward the open. "I hope I have this aimed at the right place. I would hate for you to go through all this trouble only to end up somewhere other than your own time".

Connor didn't like that idea and spoke up, "you need to point it more toward the east". He watched as Trina did as he said, "Yes, I believe that is the right place".

Trina didn't waste any time opening up the door to her past. The lights from the anomaly were a sight to behold, but Danny just wished there was some other way to do this without having to take her with them. Maybe he could somehow get Belle to hold her back while the 3 of them got through and shut down the anomaly on the other side.

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Sarah and Becker stood there looking at the lights from the anomaly. They looked around quickly to once again make sure they were not being followed. They didn't want to get back to their own time and bring company. They knew that once they were back they would have to shut everything down as quickly as possible.

Little did they know that somewhere in an altered reality Danny, Abby and Connor were contemplating the exact same idea.

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Hope you are still enjoying the story. More to come soon and since I am on vacation I hope to finish the story soon.


	17. Chapter 17

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Becker was holding Sarah's hand as they both entered the anomaly. He wanted her to go first so he could cover her back, but when she wouldn't hear of it he decided that they would go together.

As they exited the other side of the anomaly neither of them noticed the light from which they had just come through grow brighter. They were both too busy scrambling to safety just in case something came through after them. When nothing did it was Sarah who looked around the room and was relieved to see that everything they left behind still appeared in the same spot. She ran over to the machine and started pushing buttons in order to break the link it had to the anomaly.

Becker was keeping one eye on the anomaly and the other eye on what Sarah was doing but when things didn't seem to be going fast enough he gave her his full attention, "Come on Sarah, what are you doing. Shut it down before something comes through".

With a frightened looked in her eyes she looked up at Becker, "I am trying to turn it off, but it's not working. I don't know what is going on. I really wish Connor was here".

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Connor remained right where he was as Trina used the device to open the doorway home. He felt helpless just sitting there, but there was nothing he could really do. He just hoped Danny had a plan.

Danny was usually good at coming up with plans in a hurry, but this time he wasn't sure he was going to be able to come up with one that would work. "We really need some time to think about this Trina. Something caused this time to change and without knowing what it was I think we are risking too much by having you come back with us. We have got to stop messing with the past like this?"

Trina smiled at Danny, "And who is to blame for the changes?" She slowly moved her eyes from Danny, and then to Abby and lastly Connor before responding, "I think that taking me with you is the least you could do".

Danny didn't waste any time responding, "As I have said before this is not a good enough answer. If we take you then why shouldn't we take Belle with us? I am sure she would like her life to stay the same just as much as you".

The mention of her name caused Belle some anxiety. She didn't really want to be brought into this but kept her mouth shut as Trina responded to Danny.

"Well I don't think you have a choice. What is going to stop me from pushing this button again and closing the only hope you have at getting home? What is going to stop me from crushing this once I shut it down?" Trina held the device up in the air to prove her point, "If I did that then no one would be going home. We don't have any of these in our reality so you would have to wait until the anomaly opened on its own". Destroying the small device was the last thing that she wanted to do but if pushed she wouldn't hesitate to carry out her threat.

In an attempt to grab the device, Danny started to approach Trina while she was talking, but she was quicker than he was. She moved backward as he moved forward.

"Get back Danny, or I will do it. I have nothing to lose if you don't go back, but I think you have everything to lose. Now we are going to do this my way and then soon the 3 of you will be home".

"If we agree to take you with us I think that we should at least get to hold the device".

Trina once again smiled at Danny, "No I think that to show you some good faith on my part, I am going to send one of you back before me".

Danny didn't like her response, but decided that if he at least got one of them back this would all be worth it. He wanted to tell her to send Connor back, but she beat him to it.

Trina walked in front of Connor, "I think that Connor should be the first to go back". She put her arm out to help him stand, but when his hand didn't connect with hers she looked at Danny.

Danny knew what Connor was waiting for, "It's ok Connor; if I had been given a choice I would have told her to send you back as well".

Connor had been looking back and forth between Danny and Trina during their whole conversation, but his eyes rested on Danny; "No, I think that you or Abby should go back first".

Danny was very forceful when he responded, "No Connor, it is unanimous, you will go first, now please let Trina help you up".

Connor knew the look on Danny's face meant it would be a waste of time to argue about it. He allowed Trina to help him up and hobbled over to the anomaly with her help.

Trina looked at the group behind Connor before saying anything, "Ok, now Connor is going to go first, then Abby and I will go through together leaving Danny to follow after us".

Connor didn't want to go without his friends, but he knew, or at least hoped they would be right behind him. As he looked back at Abby he felt his body being pushed forward through the opening. The last thing he saw before his whole body was consumed by the light was the smile on Abby's face.

Abby smiled at Connor because she knew that he would finally be going home. She was also looking forward to going home. She came up to Trina and stood next to her to wait. She had remained silent throughout this whole ordeal but now that Connor was safe she looked over at Danny. She wished she could read his mind so she knew what he had planned. She saw something in his eyes, but was suddenly distracted when Trina grabbed hold of her arm and pushed the both of them through the anomaly.

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Sarah was working frantically on closing the anomaly when she heard Becker shouting something. She looked up and to her horror she saw something coming through the light.

Becker was ready for this moment. He had his gun aimed at the opening and was about to fire when Abby suddenly walked through. With the gun still aimed at the anomaly, he just stood there staring at Abby, but it was the woman standing next to Abby that broke the spell. He didn't recognize her at all, but this was quickly forgotten as it finally dawned on him that Abby was home. He was just about to say something when Danny walked through the anomaly next.

Sarah had noticed this as well and wanted to rush over to the group but stopped when she heard Danny shouting, "Shut down the gate". She looked down at the equipment and was ready to comply when she suddenly realized that Connor was not with them. She looked up to confirm what Danny had asked, "Are you sure you want to shut it down? Where is Connor?"

Danny was looking straight at Sarah when she asked about Connor and it took a second for him to realize why she was asking. He looked around the room and didn't see Connor anywhere, "What do mean? He came through before Abby did. Maybe he came through when you weren't looking".

Becker spoke for Sarah, "No, we didn't miss him. We haven't taken our eyes off the thing".

As Danny listened to Becker he suddenly saw Trina move away from Abby and position herself directly in front of the anomaly. She was aiming the device directly at the lights and Danny knew what she intended to do, but this was something he couldn't allow since they had to figure out where Connor was. The only thing that came to mind was leaping toward her to knock the device out of her hands. As he acted out his plan things didn't go quite he expected. He not only failed at keeping the anomaly opened, but he also managed to destroy the device as it crashed down to the floor in several pieces.

The silence in the room was deafening. No one was quite sure what happened or where Connor was. Abby started becoming very angry as the truth of the matter started sinking in, "How could you have shut the anomaly down Trina? Connor is still out there somewhere".

Trina stepped away as Abby started advancing toward her. She was ready to defend and would have if it weren't for Danny; who suddenly positioned himself between the two women, "Abby, we will figure this out I promise, but going after Trina is not the answer".

"Danny, we need to find Connor". Abby looked at Sarah as she continued, "Sarah, do you think you can open it back up?"

Sarah knew she couldn't but in an attempt to make Abby feel better she lied, "I can try Abby".

As soon as she heard Sarah's reply she knew it was hopeless. She knew they would not be able to re-open the anomaly. "Danny, what are we going to do, we have to find him".

Danny moved toward Abby and put his arms around her. "I promise we will do everything we can to find him".

Danny was hugging Abby when he found Sarah standing next to him. He looked at her and took one arm off of Abby so that he could hug her as well. Soon he was holding both women in his arms. As he continued to squeeze the both of them he found Becker standing off to his left, "Hey Becker, it looks like you are going to have to wait your turn".

Becker rolled his eyes at Danny as he gently patted the back of his shoulder, "Hey Danny, it's good to have you back, but I have to ask how you did it? And who is your guest?"

Danny looked over at Trina and then back at Becker, "She helped us get back home and we were forced to bring her with us". Danny released his hold on the girls and moved in front of Becker, "I would suggest you take her into custody until we can figure out what to do with her".

Becker didn't quite understand Danny's request, but he wasn't about to argue with the man. "Ok Danny, if that is what you want".

Trina had originally thought about escaping while they were all hugging each other, but when she heard Danny call the other man Becker she found herself very curious. She stood still but didn't remain silent as the man approached, "So your name is Becker is it?"

"It is". Becker stood there studying her. She was looking at him as if she knew him.

"So, what are you going to do with me?"

"We'll take you with us of course; but not until we find Connor". Becker looked over at Sarah, "So do you think there is a way to re-open the anomaly Sarah?"

Trina heard Becker call the other woman Sarah and thought it was too much of a coincident. She knew she was looking at Lieutenant Becker's parents. She smiled to herself but didn't say anything and just continued to watch the group run around trying to figure out what happened to their friend. Maybe this new place would be good for her after all.

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Danny was at a loss for what happened to Connor. He had seen Connor go through the anomaly himself so there was only one place he could have ended up at and that was here, but why wasn't he here?" Sarah, can you tell me anything about the anomaly, was it acting differently as you were watching it?"

Sarah shook her head, "No, we were too busy coming through it ourselves to take notice of it".

"What do you mean coming through it? Weren't you two waiting here for us?"

"We were, but when you didn't show up we went looking for you. We only just got back right before you came through".

Danny had a puzzled look on his face. "Where were the two of you?"

Becker took over explaining, "We were in the same destroyed future that we had been too when we had to rescue Abby's brother, where were you?"

"We were in the same future, but instead it wasn't destroyed".

Abby was listening but spoke up when she finally put it all together, "So, what you're saying is that you came through the anomaly at the same time we did, only we came from an altered reality that was the same time".

Everyone was confused at Abby's comment, everyone except Trina. Danny could tell she had an idea of what may have happened, "Do you know anything about this Trina?"

"I am just as clueless as you Danny, but it seems that we had to parallel anomalies opened at the same time and that may have caused the disappearance of Connor".

Abby was trying to process what Trina said as she responded, "why did the rest of us show up then, wouldn't we have all gone to where Connor went?"

"Not necessarily". Trina looked at Sarah, "You said nothing out of the ordinary happened, but when you came back through did you try the anomaly down?"

"Yes, but for some reason I couldn't".

Abby started to understand what Trina was getting at, "Maybe when Sarah shut down their anomaly we had just opened ours and that is why you couldn't shut it down. Maybe both anomalies were opened at the exact same time Connor stepped through it". She suddenly stopped what she was saying. She was scared for Connor and looked over at Danny for support, "How are we going to find Connor?"

Danny took Abby back into his arms as he also realized what she was getting at. There was no way of knowing where he could be or if he even survived coming through at all. They had little knowledge of these anomalies, let alone what would happen if more than one were opened at the same time in the exact same spot.

The room was again silent as it dawned on everyone that they had no way of getting Connor back. They had no idea of where he was or if he were still alive. No one moved from their current spots as they struggled to figure out what to do next. It was a sudden blinding light that caused them to finally do something. As they shielded their eyes to see, the lights were gone as quick as they came. When they looked in the spot where the light had been they saw a figure lying on the ground. Becker and Danny cautiously walked over to see who it was.

Abby didn't like that the men felt the need to keep the women back, but as soon as she heard Danny shout out Connor's name she moved as fast as her legs would carry her.

Abby knelt on the ground staring at Connor, "oh Connor, you had us so worried, but where did you go". She helped him sit up, but stayed there holding him when she realized he was not able to do it on his own.

Connor looked around at his friends, but it took a second before he could find his tongue, "I'm sorry Abby, I didn't want to worry you, but what are you talking about? You know where I was, I came through the anomaly right before you did".

Abby gave him a funny look, "No Connor, you didn't. When we came through we found that you never showed up. You were missing. We thought we lost you but thank goodness you're back". She couldn't help but give him a gentle hug again.

"What? No, I remember seeing your face right before I came through". Connor stopped talking as he put his head into his hands. He had one heck of a headache and had to stop thinking so hard. When he looked back at Abby he saw that she looked worried.

Danny was right at their side as they were talking, but knew he had to get everyone back to the ARC, "Come on Connor, we need to get you back to the ARC and have you looked at". He helped Connor to his feet and had to help steady him, but as soon as they started walking both Abby and Danny noticed something at the same time.

Before Danny could say something, Abby was already talking, "Connor why aren't you limping? And where did these clothes come from".

Connor didn't understand her at first, but when he did he also realized that his leg didn't hurt anymore. He then looked at his clothes and knew that they didn't belong to him, "I don't know Abby". As he uttered her name he started to fall to the ground, but never made it as Danny caught him.

Danny was having a hard time understanding any of this, but one thing he did know was that they had to help Connor. He picked his friend up and followed Becker to the truck.

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Two days later Connor finally woke up. Abby, Danny, Sarah and Becker had been anxiously waiting for this and when he did they all wanted to see him, but the nurse only allowed one person at a time.

When Abby came out of the room to give someone else a turn she looked confused, "I just don't get it. He doesn't seem to have any explanation of what happened to him and there is nothing medically wrong with his leg".

Danny wanted answers to, but he knew since they were all home they would have time to figure out. "At least we are home Abby, just be thankful for that. I'm not sure what happened either, but we're all safe now and back in our own time. Connor should be getting out of here soon and then we can try and figure this all out. In the meantime I need to get back to the ARC".

Abby knew why he needed to get back. When they brought Trina back with them Lester had taken her into one of the conference rooms to try and figure out what to do with her. It was only the next day that Lester announced that she would be joining the team. When asked why, his only response was that she promised to help them advance their weapons; something of which would help with their future missions. Danny had tried to convince Lester that this was a bad idea, but Lester would not hear of it. He said she had knowledge that could help them and they were going to use it. Danny tried again to convince him, but it was at that point that Lester admitted that this idea and that he was only doing as he was told. Danny wasn't going to give up though, he knew there was nothing he could do at this point, but he would keep a close eye on the woman. He knew what she was like in her own time, but he would not allow her to bring harm to anyone in this time. He was ready to do whatever was necessary to make sure of this.

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This is the end of episode one season/series 4.

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Please tell me what you thought of this story if you could. I have another story in mind that would continue right after this one (kind of like episode 2 of season 4), but I would like to know from you, my readers, if I should continue. There were many times that I thought about taking this story off the site because I didn't think I would be able to finish it, but as I kept on going it kind of evolved into something I was not expecting. I already have a second story in mind that would continue where this one left off. So please let me know if you want more by leaving me a comment/review.

I would also like to thank everyone who chose this story as one of their favorites and to those who left me a review.


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